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
In today’s internet world, where anyone can sit in their living room (or in some cases, I suspect, a room in their parents house or even a jail cell) and make pronouncements on stuff they know nothing about and, in some cases, haven’t even lived long enough to have seriously considered, I’m proud that, despite the crazies and the ignorant, NDOW continues to consider all the options in their decision making process, and makes the decision that best protects the public, regardless of the internet caterwauling it might produce.
I’ve been around bears for almost 60 years. I love seeing them and, on occasion, I even envy their life style. Although I haven’t always enjoyed interacting with them, I respect and live by their rules in the wild. In my territory, in and around my home, I treat them as I would any trespasser or burglar. And I am armed.
Thank you NDOW; you’re doing a great job. We’ve got your back.
Can bears be relocated successfully this time of year? Can they find a den to hibernate in, if they get put in an area they are unfamiliar with?
Our bears stopped hibernating a long time ago.
Hey Copper ! Sometimes these NDOW people over react. They count a bear that is seen in a neighborhood as having contact with humans. That’s a mark against that bear that doesn’t do anything to harm anyone. About three months ago a bear had been spotted multiple times but hadn’t harmed anyone. They viewed the bear as dangerous. In my opinion the bear demonstrated he wasn’t dangerous. I’ve read too many stories about these people acting prematurely against bears that aren’t doing anything except being bears. This isn’t one of those cases. But keep following bear stories and you’ll find plenty of times NDOW act on just sightings of the bears.
Cooper , I have never seen a bear that has harmed anyone yet ,Leave the Bears alone, I am one that has came close to a bear ,and they just walk away, Education is needed in this basin for Bears ,first of all if you are going to catch a bear ,you take them way out in the forest,not close to homes ,and highways,Lake Tahoe is a big forest ,and alot of room to take them out to, Laziness is what I call it,BEARS DO NOT HARM ,PEOPLE DO,
Copper +1
Anyone who thinks Lackey wants to kill bears is a fanatic.
It would be great if they could sterilize the bears when they have them in the trap. No reason for the troublemakers to keep reproducing.
Sunriser2,
It would be great if we could do that to some sub-humans when they get arrested over and over. But then again, the new LEO’s may not have job security.
Pine,
Seems like we had a lot less bear problems when the CA and NV Wildlife Departments took care of problem bears before they bred.
Now instead of four or five bears being killed in outlying areas dozens are killed by cars or put down each year.
No matter how well intended the efforts were the result is a huge increase to the number of bears being killed by cars or put down.