PBS airs story of wildlife in the Sierra

A mountain lion and the Nevada City neighborhood it alarmed two months ago are featured in a documentary that will air tonight on KVIE Public Television.

The film, entitled "Lions, Coyotes and Bears - Living with Predators" created by Nevada City resident and acclaimed filmmaker Doug Bertran, focuses on the growing problem of human and wild animal confrontations in Northern California.

Stewing for years, the idea for the film came from friends and neighbors who shared stories of mountain lions and bears in their back yards.

"I have wanted to do a show on this topic for a long time. I know it's a big problem as people are moving more and more into the foothills," said Bertran, who has traveled the western hemisphere in search of similar human-animal conflict stories from shark attacks to timber men and spotted owls.

When a mountain lion was killed in August after prowling the neighborhoods bordering Pioneer Park, Bertran knew he had his story. The film profiles Tom Hines, the man who witnessed a 70-pound lion kill a deer outside his kitchen window. Several domestic cats were also lost to the cougar, considered dangerous by city police who later shot and killed the animal.

By profiling people like Hines, California Fish and Game wardens and a couple from Tahoe who chased down a rubbish-eating bear, the film examines ways to reduce lethal encounters by modifying lifestyles and eliminating the things that attract the animals in the first place.

"We have to think about how we're going to live our lives. Basically, it's about being responsible, said Bertran.

The population of both people and large wild mammals are on the rise in California. Hunting mountain lions became illegal in the 1970s and since then, their numbers have grown to 6,000 while their habitat has shrunk and become fragmented. Each year, around 160 bears and mountain lions are killed because they are considered a threat to humans, and many say some of these deaths could have been avoided if people had taken precautions. Coyote are responsible for the highest number of attacks on people.

Bertran began studying animals as a marine mammal biologist 20 years ago, but his delight in filmmaking began as a child. He merged the two with a film on seals that aired on the Discovery Channel. Since then, his films have been seen on NOVA, National Geographic Television, Animal Planet and others.

<I>"ViewFinder: Lions, Coyotes and Bears - Living with Predators" airs at 7:30 tonight on Channel 6. It will repeat at 6 p.m. Oct. 30.</I>