Bears Love The Sunshine State

Bears have been flocking to California in their thousands, according to someone there who might know. Apparently the bear population is at all time high. Some experts argue competitive house prices, growing local job market and all year round good weather have been key factors in attracting the grizzlies. Patrick Foy, biologist and spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Game, spends most of his day staring at the new arrivals much to their annoyance. Patrick believes "Recent years have created better bear habitat."

But not every Californian is over the moon about their new neighbours. Debbie Yates is one deeply disgruntled local who recently experienced a less than pleasant run-in with one of the out of town bears. Debbie had been on her way out when she heard commotion in the kitchen. At first she thought it was the family cats twatting stuff off the kitchen counter. Debbie was getting ready to teach the pets a lesson they wouldn't forget when she received the shock of a lifetime.

"I came around the corner and into the kitchen and instead of seeing two cats on the counter I saw a big, brown bear, a third of the way coming in through the kitchen window," Debbie recalled as she relived the fearful nightmare. Apparently the bear was wearing a face-mask and carrying a sports bag, presumably to stash any valuables in. Debbie had no doubt the bear had come to rob her family's home, but in spite of her fear she didn't hesitate to tackle the intruder. "My instincts kicked in and I raised my hands and yelled, 'Get out! Get out!' And lucky for me, it did!"

Although many of the bears are believed to be peaceful, law abiding citizens there is a growing undercurrent of ill-feeling amongst native Californians. Increasingly bears are associated with 21st century street crimes involving drugs, guns, crack, whores, crack-whores and property. Many Californians are convinced that within a couple of years the pleasant neighbourhoods they have come to call home will become bear ghettos, where ordinary decent people fear to go.