Bear Woman: Mendocino County woman charged with feeding bears

[bijou]

The 400-pound black bear waddled off the front deck of Lynne Gravier's hillside home in Mendocino County and ambled toward the kind-hearted woman who, until recently, fed him every day of his life.

"That's Wombat!" cried Gravier, 76, as she stepped out of a car and limped with a cane toward her favorite bruin, tears forming in her eyes.

The bear's ribs were showing through his thick fur, a clear indication that he had not been eating. It was a predictable outcome for Wombat and as many as 14 other bears after the grub they were depending on was hauled away last month during a raid by state wildlife officials.

It turns out that the ursine food dispensary that Gravier had set up on the 40 acres of woodland that she owns east of Laytonville was not only ill-advised, but also illegal. The house, piled high with filth, reportedly including bear feces, was condemned by county authorities on the day of the raid, forcing Gravier to move to another family-owned dwelling several miles away.

"This is probably one of the most severe bear-feeding cases that I have run into in my career," said Lt. Loren Freeman, one of seven California Department of Fish and Game wardens who served a search warrant on Gravier's house Aug. 24. "She was having food delivered by a ranch supply house." ...

Read more: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/09/27/MNJO1FGPSJ.DTL#ixzz112a6u52t

[Wineslob]

When the sign says "Do Not Feed The Bears"....they mean it.

[thundley4]

I found a picture of the "ursine food dispensary".

[VelvetElvis]

Bear Women???

Where????   

What's that???

"Bear", not "Bare"???

Never Mind.

[NHSparky]

Don't laugh...some idiot libtard moron in Colorado (Ouray, IIRC) was killed by the bears she fed.

Same MO as well--lived alone, fed them dog food, etc.

[true_blood]

I found a picture of the "ursine food dispensary".

H5! 

[soleil]

I don't want any animals starving to death, but they have instincts. Her feeding them only hurts them in the long run. She isn't helping them.

[Ptarmigan]

Bears are cool, but feeding them is a bad idea. When people feed wild animals, they want more and more. It is like giving humans hand outs. They want more and more.

[JohnnyReb]

The bear's ribs were showing through his thick fur, a clear indication that he had not been eating. It was a predictable outcome for Wombat and as many as 14 other bears after the grub they were depending on was hauled away last month during a raid by state wildlife officials.

Winters almost here and no fat for hibernation..=..14 dead bears.