September 25, 2025

Bears, Coyotes, Mountain Lions While Hiking or Camping? What You Should Do

22 minutes

As we go about our lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and explore this beautiful state, it's not uncommon to encounter wild animals. Whether you're hiking in the Santa Cruz mountains and see warnings about mountain lions, or camping in Tahoe where bears have learned human ways, there are some things to know about how to stay safe. KQED's audience desk reporters Sarah Wright and Carly Severn join us with helpful tips about how to coexist in nature with the animals that also call it home.

Additional Resources:

⁠Camping in California? If A Bear Shows Up, Here's What to Do⁠

⁠What to Do If You See A Mountain Lion While Hiking in the Bay Area⁠

⁠Coexisting With California's Urban Coyotes⁠

⁠You've Found A Sick Or Lost Animal In the Bay Area. What Should You Do?⁠

Episode transcript

⁠Sign up for our newsletter⁠

Enter our ⁠Sierra Nevada Brewing Company monthly trivia contest⁠

Got a question you want answered? ⁠Ask⁠!

Your support makes KQED podcasts possible. You can show your love by going to ⁠https://kqed.org/donate/podcasts⁠

This story was reported by Carly Severn and Sarah Wright. Bay Curious is made by Katrina Schwartz, Gabriela Glueck and Christopher Beale. Additional support from Olivia Allen-Price, Jen Chien, Katie Sprenger, Maha Sanad, Alana Walker, Ethan Toven-Lindsey and everyone on Team KQED.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

...more