Over the weekend a large, peaceful bear wandered into downtown Ojai, ended up in a tree, and after much human hubbub and confusion, was tranquilized and killed. Published reports conflict as to what happened.
A story in the Ventura County Star, quoting state fish and game officials, reported:
At about 10 p.m. Saturday, a warden shot the animal twice with a
tranquilizer dart meant to immobilize it, and once the animal was on
the ground, officials loaded it into a pickup truck, drove it out of
town, and euthanized it, he said.
On the Ojai Post, on the other hand, Chris Nottoli (a friend) reported in an extensive timeline that the bear was killed by falling, tranquilized, out of a tree in his yard.
10:30pm: Fish and Game are at the base of the tree. The bear is huffing. I think I just heard them dart him. Twice.
10:33pm: Wait! rubber bullets? They're shooting the tree. In total darkness. All the trucks have been moved up.
10:38pm: Their hitting him with the spot lights. WTF is going on? Cops are putting on gloves.
10:40pm: They shot him again. Rubber bullet. Again. Dart- direct hit on his ass.
10:50pm: Bear fell out of the tree. Unconscious. They're shooting him up with more.
10:55pm: You guys remember the original King Kong? That's what it
looked like. He slowly let go his grip, pin wheeled over backwards then
crashed thru branches 40 ft. to the ground.11pm: Dead.
The eyewitness account sounds more convincing to me, but judge for yourself. The story has caused a great deal of unhappiness in Ojai — some people are putting flowers on the site where the bear died.
By chance the poet I quoted yesterday, Robert Peake, also lives in the neighborhood, and with Chris, Chris's partner Deb, and his own partner Val, wrote a thoughtful account of how this tragedy might have been handled better. Personally, as Chris said, I think simply not calling the cops might have helped, although much depended on the bear's ability and willingness to return to the woods.
[photo of the late bear via the Ojai Post, courtesy of Erin Ellwood]
Kit Stolz 
The photo is heartbreaking. And the advice is quite good: don’t call the cops if you want a nonviolent resolution. They are often literally trigger happy.
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There may be more still to the story than is being told. Some residents have reported that an agency approved by Fish and Game to relocate animals was given the cold shoulder when they offered an alternative plan. In trying to figure out how to prevent something like this in the future, I want to first understand the relationship between these agencies. So far, hard facts are hard won, while speculation is flowing freely…
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