There's a bear in my swimming pool!

Chris Morgan (0:00)

Hi, fabulous wild listeners. I'm so excited to bring you the first episode of season eight. Amazing. Before we start, I want to let you know about our Patreon. For just a few bucks a month, you can access loads of extended interviews and bonus content from me in the field. The great stuff that we can't fit into our main show. There's a link to our Patreon in the show notes. Thanks as always for listening.

A safety reminder before we start this episode, never get too close to wildlife, especially bears. Keep your distance for your safety and the bears.

Enjoy the show.

Lucy Soucek (0:46)

I just got a text from Brian that Maddie and the Cubs are at the pool.

Chris Morgan (0:53)

It's 8 o'clock in the morning, and I'm at a hotel in Los Angeles.

I've just hopped out of the shower to answer a knock at my door. It's Lucy, producer of The Wild. She's got news we've been waiting for all night.

Lucy Soucek (1:04)

The bears are at the pool.

Chris Morgan (1:07)

No.

Lucy Soucek (1:07)

Yeah.

Chris Morgan (1:08)

Holy s***.

Lucy Soucek (1:08)

Should we go? Yeah. Okay, let's go.

Chris Morgan (1:14)

Okay, I've been studying bears and working with them in the wild for over 30 years, and I thought I'd seen it all. Polar bears in Canada, grizzlies in Alaska, Andean bears in South America. But I never thought I'd be running towards a family of black bears lounging in a pool in a swanky LA neighborhood.

A lot of my work is about keeping bears and people away from each other, avoiding bear-human conflict. Bears belong in the wild, doing wild things surrounded by roots, berries and forests. But here's the thing, 60,000 black bears in California, and more and more of them coming down from the mountains into LA and the surrounding areas, looking for food, water and a way to cool down. But bears hanging out with inflatable unicorns in swimming pools? Seems like the nearest wild animals here are shih tzus with bows in their hair. But I came here, determined to keep an open mind about these famous bears in this famous city and see if it is possible for people and bears to thrive side by side. What happens when bears make our home, their home? What's he doing? Oh no no no no no no! I'm gonna jump out. No! Hey! From KUOW in Seattle and Chris Morgan Wildlife, welcome to The Wild.

Good morning Brian, how are you?

Wilson Sherman (3:04)

Good morning, good, good, how about you?

Chris Morgan (3:06)

Are you whispering because it's early or whispering because the bears are there?

I forget the bears are here. No way! And it's Matt, Maddie with her cubs? This is Brian, Brian Gordon. It's his swimming pool we're heading to.

Brian Gordon (3:18)

Yeah, they just came down off a tree and then now we can't see exactly where they are, but I think they're still somewhere in our backyard.

Chris Morgan (3:27)

Brian and his partner, Rick Martinez, live in the hills northeast of downtown LA. I feel like I'm in some Hollywood cop show as we screech out the hotel parking lot towards their house, hoping to get a glimpse of a bear they call Maddie.

Awesome. Well, we're racing your way right now. Hopefully, they were getting hot and bothered and ready for a dip in the pool by the time we get there, right?

Brian Gordon (3:49)

Exactly. I will open the gate when I see your car there.

Chris Morgan (3:55)

This whole thing, bears making themselves at home in backyard swimming pools first came up for me after a bear talk I gave a few years ago. When it was over, a lady came up to me, pulled out her phone and showed me the craziest thing. A bunch of photos and videos of bears in her swimming pool in Los Angeles, living the life in her backyard.

It was surreal. In one clip, there's a whole family of mom and cubs splashing about. Turns out, she's not the only one with bears swimming in their pool. There's an Instagram account called Pool Bear Life that's based here in LA. It has over 80,000 followers and it's easy to see why. It's social media gold. Bears on floaties and cubs chasing across astroturf lawns. Brian and Rick run the Instagram account. They texted us this morning alerting us that a bear that they called Maddie has just showed up at their house.

Okay, here's their driveway. Eyes peeled. Brian and Rick live in the foothills near Pasadena, in a neighborhood called Monrovia. It's classic Southern California. Lovely green lawns, white stucco houses, and rising up right there in the background of the rugged San Gabriel mountains. Coming in quietly and slowly. Their house is at the end of the road. It's steep, with neighbors on each side, and a security camera on a post.