3 bears released near Spooner, Incline bear killed

Three black bears caught in west Reno were released into the mountains above Spooner Lake on Tuesday, while a bear in Incline Village on Monday was euthanized by the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

A 2-year-old male black bear was positively identified as the bear that broke into the same house on Friday and Sunday nights. Authorities said it was preparing to break into that same house when tranquilized by a NDOW game warden.

“The bear was euthanized on scene because it was a danger to human beings,” Chris Healy, NDOW public information officer, said in a statement.

On Oct. 28, the bear was observed attempting to break into a locked truck. Initial attempts to scare the bear away were unsuccessful.

“The bear was described as ‘fearless’ by the NDOW game warden at the scene,” Healy added.

At the same time another bear in the area was trapped. The yearling female was released Tuesday afternoon in an area southeast of Gardnerville.

The euthanized bear had been handled once before near Dayton in early October. Three days later it was seen in the Incline Village area.

In October, NDOW has released 14 of the 15 bears it has caught.

The three that were released Oct. 29 were a mama and her two cubs that were caught Sunday night-Monday morning in the Juniper Ridge area off of Mayberry Drive in Reno. Mom weighed about 200 pounds and each cub about 50 pounds.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report