Mt. San Jacinto Outdoor Recreation

This is a funny video, gone viral. The dog and the bears are so cute, even in their fright. But it is a sad story when one thinks about the implications for wildlife.

It happened in Monrovia.

http://www.backpacker.com/news-and-even ... -off-bears

A funny video, but you're right, it's sad, also. These bears are obviously desperate for food. We'll never see all the animal deaths from starvation that are occurring because of human-caused global warming, and the drought and wildfires it spawns. But if we had all those animals dying on tape, perhaps people would care more.

It was funny in an ironic way to see the ferocious small dog chase away the bears, when the bears could have quite easily killed the dog. That is, no doubt, why the video went viral. At the same time, it made me think about the non-obvious threats, but serious threats, that human presence in such large numbers as we are now poses to wildlife. It is not that our dogs and cats are the big problem. They certainly are not. But in wild lands, dogs do adversely affect wildlife in subtle ways, even to creatures like bears for whom they are no physical threat. To some creatures, the scent of a dog represents the threat of a canine predator and they may move away or not reproduce as a result. One thing always leads to another in the wild. My understanding is that this is why it is important to keep dogs away from Bighorn sheep lands and why many believe that our hiking in those lands is a problem, with or without dogs, at least at certain times of the year.

Global warming is bad news for biodiversity in the short run because it is a sudden disruption to the ecosystem. In the long run, the story may be different. It seems likely to seriously reduce our numbers, and that is likely to be good for biodiversity, even if it is bad for bears and dogs and people.