Biologists hope the bear, dubbed BB-12, will help provide insights into how wildlife uses the “urban, fragmented landscape” of the Santa Monica Mountains.
For the first time, the National Park Service has captured and GPS radio-collared a black bear in the Santa Monica Mountains.
The 210-pound male bear, dubbed BB-12, was captured April 23 in a natural area on the western side of the mountains south of the 101 Freeway, the National Park Service said in a press release. There have been bear sightings over the years, but this is the first time biologists were able to capture and radio collar a specimen in the Santa Monica Mountains.
“He appears to be the only bear here in the Santa Monica Mountains, and he’s likely been here for almost two years based on our remote camera data,” Jeff Sikich, the lead field biologist of the park’s two-decade mountain lion study, told the NPS. “This seems to be our first resident bear in the 20 years we have conducted mountain lion research in the area. It will be interesting to see how he shares the landscape with our other resident large carnivores.
Biologists believe BB-12 may be the same bear that was first spotted along Reino Road in Newbury Park in 2021. Since then, wildlife trail cameras have captured that bear in half of the Santa Monica Mountains, from Malibu Creek State Park to the mountains’ western border in Point Mugu State Park, the NPS said.
As BB-12 gets older and looks to mate, biologists believe he might try to move back north and cross the 101 Freeway again.Get Los Angeles's latest local news on crime, entertainment, weather, schools, COVID, cost of living and more. Here's your go-to source for today's LA news.
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