The Point Reyes Light reports more bear sightings on the Marin coast this week.

And then , Tom Stienstra  wrote in In the June 5, SF Chronic:
 
" The Marin bear: How'd it get there? Could it be a certain erratic field scout made good on his crazy scheme to drive to a Northern California landfill, bait a bear into the framed bed of his pick-up truck, cover the frame with a tarp, and then drive it to Mt. Tamalpais and let the bear go? Or did the bear migrate all the way down from Mendocino County?"

This bear story and return of our own mountain lions has me wondering when we'll see a bear or two, too. Like our local mountains West Marin and Mt. Tamalpais are completly surrounded by either freeways, suburbs or   dairy farms.It is remotely possible  that these bears migrated down a very narrow coridor through Dillon to Occidental and Cazadero.  More likely, I agree, that these are rogue park bears bundled upcountry in the Sierra and shipped down and released in the Marin wilderness by a (mis?)guided naturalist(s).

 It's happened before. During the debate over great puma hunting referendum a few years ago,  Fish and Game and Wildlife biologists admitted they are runing of of habitat for misbehaving mammals. Trinity county Used to be a favorite drop off , but there not many big wild watersheds left.

So, my guess is we could be next, since we live right next door to a Wildlife Refuge, described here on a Crystal Springs webpage:

" Ducks, hawks and numerous small birds can be seen overhead or in the surrounding oaks and madrones. Over 180 different species of birds have been identified there. Deer, squirrels, bobcats, coyotes and rattlesnakes are often spotted. Recent sightings of mountain lions have also occurred. This pristine Watershed area surrounding the trail is recognized by the California Department of Fish and Game as a Fish Wildlife Refuge and is considered a Biosphere Reserve."

Here's the very local question about our equally surrounded wildlife refuge. How did our lions get here? They crossed Highway 17?  Could be, but more likely,  they were released by equally kindly naturalists who want to restore the local ecosystem  as ideal new habitats for misbehaving large predators from our uphill Sierra neighbors,  / Mike Liebhold