We've received quite a few reports recently of people running into bears.
You may remember last week we shared a viewer's video of a bear looking for food right in her front yard in southwest Reno.
The Nevada Department of Wildlife says that it's now that time of the year that bears, and lots of other wild animals are starting to come out and look around for food.
So, you want to make sure you are doing anything you can that prevents a bear from seeing your property as a food source.
"A lot of that is going to be storing your garbage." said Raquel Martinez, Urban Wildlife Coordinator for Nevada Department of Wildlife. "Getting a bear resistant garbage container is the best thing you can do. Of all the calls we get about 90% of them track back to bears getting into unsecured trash. So, getting that garbage locked down is really the best thing you can do to deter bears from your property."
Martinez says that if you ever do come across a bear, give them as much space as possible, at least 50 yards.
She tells us that you should never approach any wild animals, and if you see a bear in an area such as a campground, Martinez recommends you scare it away by getting loud such as using noise makers or triggering your car alarm and be sure to also notify a park ranger.
Martinez says most of their bear reports lately have been coming from the Lakeside and Field Creek area in southwest Reno.
"Definitely in the Tahoe area there's a high chance you're going to see bears, but really all of west Reno. Anywhere on that Sierra front we see bears come down and some of them make it pretty far," Martinez adds.
If you have questions and concerns about a bear or even see one roaming in your neighborhood you can call the bear hotline at 775-688-2327.
