Bears are taking over one tiny California town

In the small town of Three Rivers, California, it used to be rare to spot a bear. Now, they amble down from the foothills daily, making their way into Three Rivers to snack on acorns and annoy locals.

"They climb the oak trees," resident Karen Perl told the Los Angeles Times. "They sleep in the oak trees. They poop from the oak trees." Since the spring, about 40 bears have been captured, and Perl said at any given time, six to 10 black bears can be seen roaming through downtown or sitting outside of stores, ignoring people and just focusing on finding or eating food. "Most of the bears are being seen during the day, which is unusual," says Daniel Gammons, a wildlife biologist for Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. "They tend to be relatively secret and shy. We had a very unusual year in the park."

There are a few theories as to why there are so many bears — some believe that the drought is drying up their food supply, forcing them to forage closer to humans, but Gammons thinks it's due to a bear baby boom that started in 2014. Last spring, he said, there was a surge in births, and now those cubs are big enough to go looking for food on their own. This is actually worrisome, he added, as "any time there's bears and humans in the same place, you'll likely get some kind of conflict." One person who isn't concerned is Perl. "I used to be terrified," she told the Times. "Now it's like no big deal."

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