SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – All attention this week has been on Bear No. 753, or more affectionately known as “Hope.” The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has been trying to trap her and her cub (who isn’t tagged or numbered but has been unofficially named “Bounce”).
According to CDFW, Hope has been involved in 15 break-ins since spring and is teaching her cub the same behavior. Two weeks ago, they placed a trap in the Tahoe Keys to get the sow, but after a lot of public attention, it was removed. This week, the trap was placed at a home where there had been what is called a soft break-in, meaning a bear got through an open window or door, or pushed a French door, or a weak single-pane window.
The homeowner was in San Jose, but left a window open at their Tahoe Keys home, and Hope got in. CDFW asked permission to place a trap in the yard on August 11, and at first, the homeowner agreed, but once he learned about the situation from the BEAR League, he asked that it be removed on August 12.
Ann Bryant, executive director of the BEAR League, said she and her large number of volunteers know Hope and Bounce well, and have known Hope since she was a cub (as well as her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother). Last year, she gave birth to a cub named Decklan (named by the homeowner of the home whose deck he was born under), but he was killed by a coyote. This year, she gave birth to Bounce. Hope was born near Emerald Bay Road, and the area between there and the Tahoe Keys has been her stomping grounds since.
If a bear breaks a window or door that is locked, it’s a break-in. If the bear enters open windows or doors, it’s considered a soft entry.
“Hope had never been a problem or break-in bear until now,” said Bryant. “She returned to her stomping grounds and started pushing on open windows and doors.”
“She is an opportunistic bear,” said Bryant. As with most bears, since they are intelligent, they look for the easiest way to obtain food. If a home or car door is left unlocked, or a window open, a bear will take advantage of the situation (just as a burglar would).
An open window or door is an invitation to enter.
Bryant then rallied her volunteers to try to harass and haze the bears to keep them safe, as well as properties safe. They do this every time they see the pair, as well as other bears, forcing them from homes and into meadows and forests by different methods, including paintball guns, throwing pinecones, and lots of noise.
Volunteer Dave Fleischman has been out hazing Hope for hours at a time, getting her away from homes and into the wild, where she has plenty of food sources.
CDFW spokesperson Peter Tira said the department will continue to look for #753 and will dart her with a tranquilizer if found. He said she will then be euthanized as she “has a long history of severe conflict.”
This situation has upset a lot of bear advocates, as they know it’s the humans who need to change their behavior, and the bears will follow.
There are an estimated 500 black bears in the Lake Tahoe Basin, and the California Department of Fish & Wildlife estimates 49,000-71,000 black bears in the state. The highest number of bears in the state is in the North Coast and Cascade regions of California.
Hazing can work
BEAR League volunteer Kathie Zollinger has been with Hope and Bounce at least three dozen times this spring and summer, and she is giving them tough love with hard hazing. At the homes where she has helped with the hard hazing, the bears have not been back.
Local veterinarian Dr. Staci Baker is passionate about the bears and is often out hazing bears to not allow them to hang out around homes, thus saving their lives. She wants Lake Tahoe to be the example of how to coexist with bears due to a population knowing what to do and what not to do through education.
Contrary to some beliefs, Baker said there is no genetic component that makes a bear become a conflict or nuisance bear — she said it is all opportunity and intelligence.
Every time the BEAR League gets a call about bears around homes, they send out one (or more) of its 200 volunteers to the scene, and they start hazing right away to scare away the bear, scare them away from neighborhoods.
The public can all haze the bears. It may look cute when bears and cubs and getting into trash or cars, cute enough that people take photos when they should be hazing and making the bears feel uncomfortable.
Why bears are not relocated
Many ask, “Why can’t CDFW just move the ‘conflict bear’ away from people and into another area?” The answer is something everyone agrees on – It just doesn’t work.
Tira said there are three main reasons a bear cannot be successfully relocated. He said it just doesn’t work in California:
Bears can travel hundreds of miles, and they will come back
A bear could just cause problems in other communities
Bears are territorial, and if you introduce a bear into another bear’s territory, there could be fatal fights.
He said spending money to catch a bear and relocate it makes no sense if it doesn’t work. “It may be a feel-good solution, but it doesn’t work,” said Tira.
Bryant agrees that relocation is not a solution. She said it doesn’t work, and there is no place to take them. The bear dies trying to come back unless it’s a juvenile male that has just dispersed from its mom, then they may have a chance.
“Stop killing our bears!”
Bear advocates do not want to see them killed. Bear biologists don’t want to see them killed, yet it keeps happening. There have been a few sows trapped and killed on the South Shore this season, not a solution anyone wants. They are killed when CDFW deems them to be dangerous and a threat to public safety.
“Killing bears hasn’t worked – how many more years are we going to kill bears and not hold the public responsible?” asked Bryant.
South Lake Tahoe City Councilman David Jinkens asked the rest of the Council this week not to allow bears to be killed in the city limits.
“We can coexist, and I was pleased that the City Council agreed to engage with the Bear League and State officials on the best approach to the issue,” said Jinkens. ” I have faith that we can find a positive solution.”
When a sow is killed, her cub(s) are sent to one of two Northern California rehabilitation centers if there is room. Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care can no longer accept bears in its new center, as they don’t have the correct licensed personnel on staff.
Sows with cubs (until they hit about 15 months old) are killed much more often than males.
Education is key
This is also a topic all sides can agree about. Humans are the problem here and need to do better. Some people (locals and visitors) have been seen feeding bears and other wildlife with bones, apples, and other sources of food to encourage the bears to hang out by their home, or provide a great photo opportunity. This is a problem, and very illegal.
There are MANY resources for the public to go to for education on bears. Here are three resources:
The BEAR League, Team Bear, and other advocates will deliver electric mats to homes to help prevent bears from getting in. These mats work, but the ultimate tool is adding electric fencing to entry points. CDFW even carries the “unwelcome” mats.
People need to be diligent 100 percent of the time. Lock doors, windows, don’t leave ice chests outside, don’t feed wildlife, put garbage inside, and lock trash containers at all times.
One sow was killed recently by Pope Beach because a human left trash out of the dumpster – a sure path to her becoming known as a “conflict” bear by the agency.
“Kill one, another one will be right behind her as the homeowner or person hasn’t changed their behavior,” said Bryant. “We can do this over and over again, it doesn’t need to be that way, we should be smarter than that.”
The BEAR League’s opinion is that people are supposed to be smarter than bears; they just need to act like it. There are many things the public can do to protect the bear, and they should not expect the bears to die due to apathy and laziness.
Bryant would like to see all new residents invest in wiring their homes before they even buy their first snowblower.
“On that first encounter, the bear needs a negative reinforcement, not a party in the kitchen,” said Bryant.
“We’re going to fight, we care about the bears,” said Bryant. “They (CDFW) don’t need to love bears; they need to understand Tahoe people love the bears.”
Bryant said she has respect for CDFW in a lot of ways. “They are amazing people, wonderful biologists. The problem is their jumping in before educating the public. Bears are not disposable,” she said.
You live in or are visiting bear country, be respectful and responsible.
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