The San Luis Obispo Botanical Garden presents an informative talk by California Department of Fish and Game Wildlife Biologists Rocky Thompson and Marc Kenyon on Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012 from 1 p.m. to 2 p.m. Although common in San Luis Obispo County, bears and mountain lions are not often encountered. In this talk they will discuss the biology of bears and mountain lions with particular emphasis on behavior, potential human interaction and how to avoid problems. They will also discuss actions to take in the event of a bear or mountain lion encounter.

Rocky Thompson, a senior wildlife biologist, is a native of San Luis Obispo he graduated from Cal Poly in 1983 with a master’s degree in wildlife biology. He has worked for the Department of Fish and Game throughout the state for over 25 years. Marc Kenyon coordinates the black bear, mountain lion and wild pig programs for the California Department of Fish and Game. He has worked with the department for five years following work as a private lands biologist for Ducks Unlimited, a bear biologist for the National Parks Service in Yosemite and as a wildlife specialist with the Cooperative Extension Program in Montana. Marc has a bachelor of science in wildlife biology from UC Davis and a master’s degree in animal and range sciences from Montana State University, Bozeman. Marc enjoys hiking, fishing, hunting and camping with his wife of 12 years and two wonderful children.

The presentation is $5 for members and $10 non-members and is followed at 2 p.m. by a free docent-led tour of the Garden. A children’s event, The Animals Around Us, will be held concurrently at 1p.m. in the Garden of Exploration, donations accepted.
For more information contact Kristina Van Wert at (805) 541-1400 ext 305 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .