A couple of bears rummaging through the trash in the Lake Tahoe area were captured early Friday morning. They will be returned to the wild on Saturday.
The Nevada Department of Wildlife says it expects it to be a busy year for bears. Every year, most of the bears NDOW captures are new bears that haven't been seen before. And the only reason they say they're seeing more bears get closer to homes is because of human trash.
One of the bears was captured in a trap at Stateline while the other was captured in incline village. "This particular bear because of his age and the fact that there were some pretty significant break-ins going on in Incline, we're going to relocate him and see if that trouble continues,” says NDOW biologist Carl Lackey.
The captured bears will be released back into the wild on Saturday morning. On Friday, they were tagged, micro-chipped and lips tattooed so they can be tracked in the future.
NDOW estimates 25 to 30 bears have been captured since the start of the year. But this summer is slower than last July with bears roaming in urban neighborhoods. As to why - the best guess NDOW says is because of all the precipitation we've been getting these last couple weeks. More grass and vegetation grew in the backcountry for the bears as a food source. However, some bears are making their way near homes to find an extra snack. "We don't like seeing the bears that are very, very obese in urban areas because that means they're making a living off the trash."
So make sure you put away your trash and keep an eye out for things like bird feeders in your backyard, because that's what's attracting the bears near your homes.
Persons needing to report nuisance bear activity can call the NDOW’s Bear Hotline telephone number at (775) 688-BEAR (2327). For information on living with bears persons can go to www.ndow.org and find the ”Bear Logic” page on the web.
