Orphaned deer, bear attack highlights California drought's role in wildlife-human encounters

The scarcity of food in the wild has been blamed for unusual animal activity during California's drought including a recent bear attack, mountain lion sightings and an uptick in orphaned animals. Diane Nicholas believes a dearth of water and fresh vegetation in the Sierra Foothills is behind what's been the busiest year for her fawn rescue in Loomis, California, near Sacramento. For nine years, the Kindred Spirits Fawn rescue has cared for hundreds of fawns found injured on roads or caught in fences, near dead mothers in the wild or alone on suburban lawns. Nicholas, a 63-year-old interior designer, says she received more baby deer in April than in any other year and is on track to rehabilitate a record 200. Some were found stuck in nearby canals where they had gone in search of water. Five fawns came to her weighing less than 2 pounds, the first she's ever seen them so small. Others were found near underweight mothers that apparently died in childbirth. "These does have been in such poor health that when they give birth it takes it all out of them," Nicholas said. "We have to assume it's a lack of food and water." Marc Kenyon, who oversees the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's human conflict program, says rangers are also seeing an uptick in orphaned mountain lion kittens and bear cubs. He says officials need years of data before determining a drought link because unusual trends may also be driven by climate change, disease or genetics. Meanwhile, Nicholas isn't only worried about deer in the drought. A bear wandered on her property for the first time. Unusual bear activity around the state has raised alarms. An increased number of bears — in new areas — have been spotted in Bakersfield in Southern California. Statewide, there has been an uptick in black bear-human encounters, including a recent non-fatal attack on a man who lives near Yosemite National Park. Wildlife officials say it's indisputable that some bears are expanding their search for food, but populations have been thriving...more