Bears In The News

[AZLOT69]

Eight Foraging Bears Killed In Tahoe


Posted: 9:44 am PDT June 11, 2010
Updated: 10:02 am PDT June 11, 2010

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. -- The heavy snow and lingering winter conditions in the Sierra are forcing black bears into the valleys around Lake Tahoe, where an unusually large number of them have had to be put to death in recent weeks.

Nevada Department of Wildlife biologist Carl Lackey says officials already killed eight bears this spring, compared with a typical death toll of just one or two by this time.

"I attribute that to the late winter weather conditions," he said.

Unlocked food or trash lures the bears into trouble in cars and homes. Adding to the problem, Lackey said, is Washoe County has no ordinance requiring bear-proof trash receptacles.

Hot spots are centered near South Lake Tahoe, Tahoma and Highway 89 near the Squaw Valley and Alpine ski resorts.

Cristen Langner, a wildlife biologist for California Fish and Game, said the California side of the Tahoe basin has had three permitted bear deaths this year, which is not uncommon for this time. Each of the deaths was also a result of residents not locking up food trash or food, she said.

Langner echoed Lackey's words of caution and said residents should always be bear-aware and keep doors locked and food secure.

"The big thing is that every time these bears are successful (finding stored trash or food) it just reinforces that behavior," she said.

Ann Bryant, president of the Homewood-based BEAR League, said she's concerned about the death toll.

"I'm pretty shocked because it's only going to get worse as the season goes on," she said.

Bryant said based on calls, sightings and onsite observations, the BEAR League has observed more newborns this year than any other, as well as an increased number of sightings and conflicts.

Usually bears aren't spotted out of hibernation until May or June, Bryant said, but she's seen them as early as March and April this year.

[LindaAnn]

@FOTG
Yep, in the spring & summer, you’ve got angry moms with babies, and in the fall, you’ve got aggressive males who will fight anything. Can’t win.

[big_load]

@FOTG
Yep, in the spring & summer, you’ve got angry moms with babies, and in the fall, you’ve got aggressive males who will fight anything. Can’t win.

Yeah, a few years ago a hiking buddy and I found ourselves suddenly within 20 feet of an angry mother moose with adolescent calf. She stood up tall, puffed out her chest, and glared at us as we slowly backed away. It was far scarier than any of my many bear encounters.

[outdoor_lover]

Yikes. Well, I've yet to see a rattlesnake. (Nor looking forward to it.) But there are more photos of rattlesnakes on this site than bears.

Plenty of them have seen you.....

[Alston_Neal]

@FOTG
Speaking of moose, did ya catch this?
https://www.krqe.com/video/moose-sighti ... o/8986505/

[FOTG]

@Alston_Neal
Interesting. Seems like CO is developing a moose problem and now they are spilling over into NM. I generally support the reintroduction of most species, but the "reintroduction" of moose into CO was based off false presumptions and now nearly all experts agree they were never native to the state. In two decades the FS will probably be shooting them from helicopters, .

Though moose run rampant across Colorado postcards, they were actually artificially introduced as recently as 1978 by Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Prior to this introduction, transient moose were spotted occasionally in the state, though experts believe populations were never fully established here naturally.

In fact, there weren't any permanent populations of moose in the state until just over four decades ago. As of 2023, there are nearly 3,000 moose across the state of Colorado. However, moose aren't considered to be native to the Centennial State at all

[Pivo]

I generally support the reintroduction of most species,

How do you feel about reintroduction of brown bears?

[chumley]

@Pivo It would make some triplogs here even more entertaining to read.

[Pivo]

@chumley
Forty years ago there was a poll in one of the hunting and fishing magazines taken in Colorado. It was almost unanimously "No".

[FOTG]

@Pivo
I’m for it.

[CannondaleKid]

Well, I've yet to see a rattlesnake.

That could easily change if you hiked with me as I've encountered literally hundreds (1K+?) of rattlers (accidentally stepping on two) in my 20 yrs living in AZ and so far no issues.

But there are more photos of rattlesnakes on this site than bears.

Makes sense since there are far more rattlesnakes than bears in AZ, and thus far more encounters snakes vs bear.

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

@CannondaleKid
Fine. You lead. I'll follow. :-)

[TooOld2Hike_EP]

Justin Outdoors just posted a video about being charged by a Grizzly Bear in Canada.

Here's the main link for his channel. The video is currently the latest.

[CannondaleKid]

You lead. I'll follow. :-)

Tracey wouldn't necessarily agree with that being the better place. For all the times I've stepped over a rattler without seeing it only for it to move/rattle right as Tracey follows in my footsteps, she'd rather not experience the resulting heart-stopping moments.

Why do I miss noticing them so often?
Well... when hiking off-trail or on practically non-existent trails, my focus is scanning the general terrain for the best route while rarely looking closely at the ground immediately ahead, so of course I miss a few.
However, since Tracey IS watching closely she never fails to point out what I missed... usually by screaming.

[DbleDutch]

@CannondaleKid
My sweetheart echos the same way, in the same scenario.

[RedRoxx44]

Watched a video of a relative interviewed of the couple in Banff killed with their dog. Apparently the rescuers hiking in at about 1:45 am with lights noted the bear proof canister hung in the tree. They had not reached the campsite when they were attacked by the bear. They killed it then set up a perimeter to make sure it was the only bear. They then proceeded to the campsite and found the couple.

[hikeaz]

Bear bedtime story....

[JimmyLyding]

How do you feel about reintroduction of brown bears?

The idea of reintroducing grizzly bears has been in the news out here the last few years. Some people look at the huge federal wilderness areas in the southern Sierra Nevada and think the area would work for grizzly reintroduction, but there are a lot of potential problems. Grizzly bears require a wide range of habitats so trying to confine them to the High Sierra would probably not work. Grizzly bears in the continental US hibernate in dens in the high country before heading to lower elevations for water and green vegetation in the spring. A bear that hibernates in the High Sierra would emerge to feet of snow in the spring so guess what? Grizzlies visiting the San Joaquin Valley (Bakersfield and Fresno area) which is full of water, farms, livestock and people. That does not seem like a recipe for success.

Wolves are reintroducing themselves to California, however, and it doesn't look like that's going to change any time soon. A young male wolf, OR-93, made it all the way from his birthplace south of Mount Hood to a frontage road along I-5 just south of the Grapevine before being run over. OR-93 traveled south through the Sierra Nevada then crossed the San Joaquin Valley to spend some time in San Luis Obispo and Ventura counties before meeting his untimely demise. OR-7 was his famous predecessor who traveled from his birthplace in the Wallowa Mountains all the way to a bit north of Tahoe before settling into SW Oregon to establish the Rogue Pack.
California has 7 known wolf packs including the recently discovered Tulare Pack around Giant Sequoia National Monument (south of Sequoia-Kings Canyon National Park), and I would anticipate more all the time.

I bring up California wolves not only because I find them interesting and very cool, but also to point out that the reason they're here is because young wolves are wont to travel long distances looking for whatever young wolves want, and can easily establish a territory. The resurgence of the wolf across a lot of its territory is also helped by its high reproductive rate and lots of available territory. The wolves in California are descended from wolves in Oregon that are descended from wolves that naturally spread from reintroduced populations in Yellowstone and Idaho which themselves came from the Canadian Rockies.

Grizzlies don't have the same advantages as wolves with respect to reestablishing themselves in former habitat. Unlike wolves they reproduce very slowly and occasionally kill people. Human-wolf conflict is basically limited to depredations on livestock, but grizzly bears are good at getting into so many other types of trouble. Grizzlies also don't go on 1,000-mile walkabouts.

There are a few areas that may be able to support reintroduced grizzlies with a boatload of monetary and political investment along with dramatically different local opinions, but none of those are likely to happen anytime soon. The San Juan Mountains, home of the Wiseman grizzly, is probably the best place. Perhaps far northwestern California/southwest Oregon, the Uinta Mountains and the AZ-NM high country will have wild grizzlies before we live like the Jetsons.

[Alston_Neal]

The San Juan Mountains, home of the Wiseman grizzly

Curiosity got me and the search led me here. Interesting....https://www.the-journal.com/articles/th ... zzly-bear/

[Pivo]

It's interesting that one of the safety recommendations is to slow down trains on curves??
Trains are not like trucks and cars.

https://www.tricityrecordnm.com/article ... n-montana/

[JimmyLyding]

Curiosity got me and the search led me here. Interesting....https://www.the-journal.com/articles/th ... zzly-bear/

The Wiseman grizzly story is fascinating. For the record I believe Ed Wiseman's account of the attack.
I am more fascinated by the idea that vanished species have persisted in a given geographic area past the last official account. The last proven grizzly in California was killed in 1922 and the last sighting was in 1924, but that doesn't mean those were the last 2 grizzlies in California. I think it's likely that California had grizzlies after the mid-1920s just like Colorado was proven to have a grizzly 27 years after the last one was supposedly killed in 1952.