By Miriam Raftery
June 8, 2024 (Palomar) – Bears hadn’t been spotted on Palomar Mountain for roughly a decade—until now. Over the past two weeks, multiple residents and business owners have posted photos and videos showing a black bear frequenting the area.
On May 21, Deana Marie Freeman posted the photo (left) on social media, which she said was a bear outside her cabin along Fern Trail in the Bailey’s area of Palomar Mountain. On May 26, Palomar Mountain Snow Play posted a video showing a bear running behind their store. A third video on June 2 shows a bear walking north on Canfield Road near the Palomar Mountain General Store (screenshot from video, right).
Bear sightings in San Diego County are rare. A park ranger and others reported seeing a black bear in Palomar State Park back in 2013, though no confirmed sightings with photos had been documented for years. There had been confirmed black bear sightings in Julian, Ramona and Cuyamaca prior to the 2007 firestorms, as well as a bear spotted in In-Ko-Pah in 2013 by a Border Patrol infrared camera.
‘But recently, San Bernadino and Los Angeles Counties have had a rise in bear sightings.
Black bears are the only species found in California, though they may appear brown, black, or even blond. They primarily eat plants and insects, but will also eat small mammals and scour in trashcans—so it’s important to have bear-proof trash containers if you live in Palomar or other areas where bears are found.
Black bears, unlike grizzlies, rarely harm humans unless cornered or threatened. In fact, a woman killed by a black bear at her home in Sierra County last year was the first person ever confirmed kllled by a black bear in California’s history. That bear was later euthanized.
Tim Daly with California Fish & Wildlife told NBC 7, an ECM news partner, that the department considers these to be confirmed sightings and that these sightings are all likely of the same bear. The bear is not collared, so it’s movements can’t be tracked.