The night of August 22 began like any other in the Pine City Campground near Mammoth Lakes, California. After an idyllic summer day spent in and around Lake Mary, an alpine lake located a ten-minute drive from town, visitors had returned to their campsites, and were starting on dinner. We can only assume it was also a normal night for the biggest bear in the area, but one that would unfortunately culminate in his death at the hands of wildlife officials, and the unceremonious dumping of his body at a local landfill.

The campers at site one knew what to expect when the bear in question, a large chocolate-colored bear male named Victor wandered up to their picnic table. They were regulars in the area, and Victor was easy to tell apart from other bears not only due to his size, but by the distinctive white fur 鈥淰鈥� on his chest that gave him his name.

Delaney Prince, the campground host at Pine City describes Victor as calm, and totally habituated to the presence of humans and their food. 鈥淚t took a lot to spook Victor,鈥� she told me over the phone.

Prince was responsible for the campground that evening, but was off-site when Victor started making his rounds. She says the regulars at site one knew what to do, and immediately picked up their food, moved back to a safe distance, and alerted other campers to his presence.

But Victor didn鈥檛 stay interested in site one for long. Over between sites nine and ten campers were grilling steaks. The smell attracted Victor鈥檚 attention.

Victor lumbered through the entire campground, following his nose to find the sizzling beef. As he did, other campers raised the alarm. But when they heard him coming, the people in sites nine and ten didn鈥檛 put their food away, or move to a safe distance. Instead, they picked up their phones and started to shoot videos. One of them climbed a short stump, fatefully located right between the picnic table and the bear-proof storage container, the door of which had been propped open.

鈥淚f I had been there, it would have gone different,鈥� Prince told me.

Victor approached the table, and began eating the steaks, heedless of the humans shouting and banging pots. When he finished, he decided to peruse the rest of the campers鈥� groceries, sitting there right at nose level in the open bear box. That鈥檚 when he noticed the woman on the stump, too close for his comfort. Victor swiped at her鈥攁n action that would have consequences later.

 

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鈥淚f no one was there, he never would have reacted like that,鈥� explained Prince. She says she鈥檚 seen visitors hit Victor over the head with a 2×4, and stand between him and a bear box.

鈥�20 minutes later, somebody showed me the video. I knew what the outcome would be,鈥� she said.

State wildlife officials were called, they tracked Victor to where he was resting at a nearby creek, and tranquilized him. They loaded his sleeping body into a pickup truck, and drove him 40 miles to their office in Bishop. When they confirmed that Victor was the bear responsible for causing minor injuries to the camper, . in the aftermath show his body lying in the open, blood pooling in the dirt, right in front of his white 鈥淰.鈥�

鈥淚 was honestly devastated,鈥� Prince said. It鈥檚 her third summer working on Lake Mary鈥擵ictor kept drawing her back.

鈥淢y dog is named after that bear,鈥� she said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 been the wallpaper on my phone for three years now. I鈥檝e watched him scratch his back on trees and swim across the lake. My heart is broken that he is gone.鈥�

Prince says that while Victor was her favorite part of camp hosting, he was also the hardest.

Prince and her husband decided to become campground hosts after spending a few summers in the area. Hosting gives them a free place to park their RV, and Prince an hourly wage for cleaning toilets, doing paperwork, and helping guests enjoy their stay. She says that educating campers about bears ends up being the biggest part of her job, but it鈥檚 only something the Forest Service concessionaire that manages the campground gives hosts 鈥渢wo to three hours of training on,鈥� as part of the two-day training they receive for 鈥渆verything.鈥�

According to the host, most campers arriving at Lake Mary are unaware that bears are in the area. But read online reviews of the campground, and bears are frequently mentioned.

鈥淎s soon as we got there, there was a mama bear looking for snacks and found someone鈥檚 food,鈥� for the campground on the government鈥檚 official booking site, Recreation.Gov.

鈥淭he Forest Service doesn鈥檛 work with us at all,鈥� Prince complained. 鈥淔ish and game doesn鈥檛 work with us at all. Camp hosts are the first line of defense to talk about people and educate people.鈥� Prince told me that educating visitors about bear safety has become her personal calling鈥攂ecause no one else will provide the resources.

鈥淚t鈥檚 not just campers. The lake up here sees so much day use,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f I see a bear, I鈥檝e got an e-bike. My goal is to get ahead of the bear, get between it and the campers, and get food put away. I move them up to the road, and the bears just walk on by. I tell campers my rule is to stay at least 30-40 feet away鈥攖he length of a school bus.

I asked Prince what she wishes campers knew before they showed up. 鈥淏ears don鈥檛 need to be feared, they just need a lot of respect,鈥� she tells me. 鈥淭hey have no desire to hurt somebody.鈥�

鈥淭reat the bear box like a fridge,鈥� the campground host continues. “Open and close it as you need it and keep the door closed. Sometimes a bear comes when your food is out. Take your plate and walk away. At the end of the day we are the guests in their home and we need to treat it like that.鈥�

Prince said there鈥檚 no need to bring bear spray. There are no grizzly bears in California. Black bears, like Victor, pose little risk to humans.

鈥淚鈥檝e seen bear spray used, and every time it鈥檚 used it鈥檚 because humans have gotten too close,鈥� she says. 鈥淎nd it鈥檚 always all over everyone within 20 feet. It鈥檚 not necessary up here.鈥�

Immediately upon learning of Victor鈥檚 death, the Bishop Paiute Tribe recovered his body, and arranged a ceremony to honor, 鈥渢he loss of one of their sacred relatives, Victor the Pahabichi (bear).鈥�

鈥淭he ceremony was a powerful and emotional tribute, featuring prayers, songs, and offerings made in Victor鈥檚 honor,鈥� reads issued by the Bishop Paiute. 鈥淭he Tribe is grateful for the opportunity to provide Victor with a proper burial, recognizing the Pahabichi is sacred to their community and acknowledging their role as visitors on Pahabichi homelands.鈥�

鈥淚 am so grateful the tribe gave him a proper burial,鈥� said Prince.

The campground host hopes the incident highlights the need for better bear safety education. 鈥淢ost of the people up here are excited for those bear interactions, that is something Mammoth prides itself on,鈥� she said. 鈥淏ut then they do not go through with the education that is needed, or teaching people how to recreate with bears. And that led to what happened with Victor.鈥�

That鈥檚 something she鈥檚 prepared to take the lead on. 鈥淚鈥檓 trying really hard to meet with the Forest Service to try and work with them next summer educating campers and day use people on how to be bear aware,鈥� she texted me soon after our conversation. 鈥淚鈥檇 love to work in the campgrounds doing programs to educate and really build a presence for the Forest Service in the area.鈥�

鈥淲e should do better,鈥� the campground host concluded. 鈥淲e are the humans, they are the animals.鈥�

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