A San Antonio Heights family recollects their bear experience

By Sandra Emerson on July 30, 2009 5:46 PM | Permalink |

A San Antonio Heights family is expressing their concern over the death of the San Antonio Heights bear.

Casey Cantero sent a copy of his letter to NBC4 to the Daily Bulletin newspaper.

He said he was devestated when he heard the news of the bear's death.

"The consensus appears to be that the neighbors are no happy with it," Cantero said. "There are a few neighbors that didn't like the bear, but most appear that they like the bear."

Cantero also sent photos of the bear when it was playing in the family's swimming pool. The photos are posted at the end of this blog entry.

The letter:

"We were recently informed that the bear spotted in San Antonio Heights for the past month or so was shot and killed last night by a police officer and that the story would be reported by NBC4 on tonight's 11:00 PM news. Many of the residents here are, to put it lightly, unhappy with this development and curious as to the circumstances surrounding the shooting. The sheriff's department has refused to provide any information; we're told that details would be given on your network this evening. We will be watching attentively.

Our community sits right in the foothills leading up to Mt. Baldy. While we are accustomed to seeing wildlife of some sort, it was quite rare to see a bear, particularly with the frequency with which this one appeared. I had personally come in close contact (within about six feet) with it twice and seen it from varying distances about a half dozen times over the course of three weeks. The neighborhood sightings had started even earlier. Stories of trash rummaging, fruit picking, and meandering were commonplace. Needless to say, the bear enjoyed a sort of celebrity status here. By choosing to live in the foothills we accept and embrace the wildlife that will undoubtedly make its presence known. Some residents were upset with the bear's presence; we're unsure why they chose to live where they do.

Hopefully someone is still reading this. Just yesterday my family and I were fortunate enough to be visited by the bear while a camera was available. The bear was a bit hot, apparently, because it spent about twenty minutes in our pool playing with beach balls and a raft. We had a camera ready. I have included links to a few of those photos below in hopes that they may be shown as a memorial in your segment tonight. We think your viewers will enjoy them.

As a final note, I'd like to say that no aggressive behavior had been observed or reported by any residents to our knowledge. Even just a few feet from the bear, I didn't feel threatened. When he saw me, he turned and walked the other way. While we understand that bears are wild animals and capable of becoming violent in an instant, we are deeply saddened by the manner in which this situation was handled."

Sincerely,

Casey Cantero (on behalf of the Cantero family)