I was walking down the road and I saw a black bear, hee haw…

[Katy]

https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/18/us/black-bear-homes-lake-tahoe-wanted-trnd/index.html
 

Sorry, when we were hooting at this story tonight we somehow started singing it in the form of new verses of Wonky Donky.

[MercyA]

Oh my goodness, he is huge! Praying they will be able to relocate him. 

[Carol in Cal.]

When bears get that brazen, they are very dangerous.  That is a high population density area, with houses that are fairly close together.   This is not good at all.

[Arcadia]

Lake Tahoe always have bear visitors. This one is huge though 

The webpage for this bear https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Mammals/Black-Bear/Blog/the-food-habituated-tahoe-keys-bear

[Carol in Cal.]

59 minutes ago, Arcadia said:

Lake Tahoe always have bear visitors. This one is huge though 

The webpage for this bear https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Mammals/Black-Bear/Blog/the-food-habituated-tahoe-keys-bear

Usually not the cabins, though.  More often the campgrounds or beaches where food is more accessible like DL Bliss or the beach down the hill next to Emerald Bay.  This bear is breaking into secured, hefty cabins by crashing through front doors AND GARAGE DOORS.  That’s very alarming.

They don’t say “A fed bear is a dead bear” for nothing.  It’s not that hard to keep food out of sight and sealed, and to put garbage cans out only briefly.  Those two simple actions go such a long way toward preventing this kind of dangerous habituation.

Edited February 19, 2022 by Carol in Cal.

[Carrie12345]

I always wonder what makes some bears try to enter houses while most bears don’t. 

Population density is a lot lower here, but our bears are NOT afraid of people.  And they’re always in someone’s garbage. But I can’t think of a single local incident of a bear getting in a house. Just news and videos from other areas.

I have worried in the past about cooking and then leaving my windows open at night, but maybe they just have so much outside food that they don’t see the need to try to get inside? They’ve definitely been on my porch and deck before, nosing around, but no attempts to B&E.

We do have a relocation program, but there are just too many bears to move every one that gets too comfy.  They did move one that growled at me when I tried to shoo it.  (Not on my call, but it matched the description of the one causing some trouble a half mile away a few months later.) “Normal” ones just stare like, “You’re kidding, right?”

[Farrar]

That's a crazy size for a black bear, even right before hibernation. But maybe they're bigger out west. 

I had a black bear break into my car once. I was packing up and went across the road for a bit and it was in the car when I got back. Oy. My stepmom said that it was probably the one that had been breaking into all kinds of things. And then later a bear had to be relocated from their community and I thought it was probably that one.

I'm guessing the breaking in is just chance. A bear does it once, gets away with it, and a bad and dangerous habit is formed.

[Slache]

10 hours ago, MercyA said:

Oh my goodness, he is huge! Praying they will be able to relocate him. 

He is severely food-habituated. Don't be rude!

[MercyA]

11 hours ago, Arcadia said:

Lake Tahoe always have bear visitors. This one is huge though 

The webpage for this bear https://wildlife.ca.gov/Conservation/Mammals/Black-Bear/Blog/the-food-habituated-tahoe-keys-bear

Looks like they are planning on killing him in spite of the fact that there is an out-of-state wildlife sanctuary who has agreed to take him and a bear advocacy group willing to pay all relocation expenses. 😞 
 

[Tree Frog]

Family lore says when my parents were tent camping, they woke up to find a bear in their tent with them. They got out safely, finished sleeping in the car that night, and never went tent camping again. I've often wondered if they took their food in the tent with them. I have no idea why else a bear would enter a tent.

[Arcadia]

24 minutes ago, MercyA said:

Looks like they are planning on killing him in spite of the fact that there is an out-of-state wildlife sanctuary who has agreed to take him and a bear advocacy group willing to pay all relocation expenses. 😞 
 

I read in the local news that it has to do with Colorado laws about not taking wildfire. If Colorado would permit the bear going there, then the idea would be feasible.

[MercyA]

1 hour ago, Arcadia said:

I read in the local news that it has to do with Colorado laws about not taking wildfire. If Colorado would permit the bear going there, then the idea would be feasible.

I wish Colorado would make an exception. From USA Today: "Black bears can't be imported into Colorado without permits and approval from the state's parks and wildlife agency."

I hate thinking of the bear being trapped and killed. 😞 

Run, boy, run!

Edited February 19, 2022 by MercyA

[Carol in Cal.]

2 hours ago, Tree Frog said:

Family lore says when my parents were tent camping, they woke up to find a bear in their tent with them. They got out safely, finished sleeping in the car that night, and never went tent camping again. I've often wondered if they took their food in the tent with them. I have no idea why else a bear would enter a tent.

A friend of my husband’s woke up after quite a significant, grease and alcohol laden, campfire party to find a bear licking the grease off of his face while he dozed in his sleeping bag.  Not sure if there was a tent around him or not. But it was quite an appalling story.  Luckily that’s as far as it went.  The bear cleaned his face and then retreated.

[Slache]

3 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

A friend of my husband’s woke up after quite a significant, grease and alcohol laden, campfire party to find a bear licking the grease off of his face while he dozed in his sleeping bag.  Not sure if there was a tent around him or not. But it was quite an appalling story.  Luckily that’s as far as it went.  The bear cleaned his face and then retreated.

Hims was helping.

[Tree Frog]

40 minutes ago, Carol in Cal. said:

A friend of my husband’s woke up after quite a significant, grease and alcohol laden, campfire party to find a bear licking the grease off of his face while he dozed in his sleeping bag.  Not sure if there was a tent around him or not. But it was quite an appalling story.  Luckily that’s as far as it went.  The bear cleaned his face and then retreated.

I'll bet he sobered up really fast!

[Carol in Cal.]

14 minutes ago, Tree Frog said:

I'll bet he sobered up really fast!

Let’s just say, it was a wake up call on several levels.

[MEmama]

3 hours ago, Tree Frog said:

Family lore says when my parents were tent camping, they woke up to find a bear in their tent with them. They got out safely, finished sleeping in the car that night, and never went tent camping again. I've often wondered if they took their food in the tent with them. I have no idea why else a bear would enter a tent.

We had a bear try to enter our tent once in northern Minnesota. Our very territorial, protective dog on the inside and the bear on the outside made for some mighty tense moments. I’m not sure I’ve ever been so scared.

Eventually it wandered away and we ran for our truck, where we stayed the rest of the night. Cured me of ever wanting to tent camp again. (I have since, but I don't like it)

No, we didn’t have food in our tent. It was late in the season and the bears were accustomed to finding food at camp sites, though. IIRC we were some of the only people in the campground.

[TravelingChris]

We had a black bear try to take our dinner at Crater Lake.  I screamed at him and he left./

[Carol in Cal.]

Black bears are generally far less aggressive and dangerous than grizzly bears.  Just saying.

[TravelingChris]

1 hour ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Black bears are generally far less aggressive and dangerous than grizzly bears.  Just saying.

When I lived in New Mexico, a young black bear broke into a cabin and killed an elderly woman.

[City Mouse]

I live in an area with high bear activity. Although I have never seen the actual bear, I often find fresh bear scat in my back yard.

Once bears get to the point that they have lost their fear of people, they are not relocated. They are killed. Relocating just moves the problem to a different location. Bears can travel long distances to find easy access to food sources. 

[vonfirmath]

10 hours ago, Tree Frog said:

Family lore says when my parents were tent camping, they woke up to find a bear in their tent with them. They got out safely, finished sleeping in the car that night, and never went tent camping again. I've often wondered if they took their food in the tent with them. I have no idea why else a bear would enter a tent.

I am a reluctant tent camper already. This would be enough to stop my tent camping.

[vonfirmath]

5 minutes ago, City Mouse said:

I live in an area with high bear activity. Although I have never seen the actual bear, I often find fresh bear scat in my back yard.

Once bears get to the point that they have lost their fear of people, they are not relocated. They are killed. Relocating just moves the problem to a different location. Bears can travel long distances to find easy access to food sources. 

Iwondered -- not sure I want a bear moved near me who already had a history of breaking in doors.

[Carol in Cal.]

2 hours ago, TravelingChris said:

When I lived in New Mexico, a young black bear broke into a cabin and killed an elderly woman.

Yes, they can be very dangerous, and grizzlies even more so.

[MercyA]

1 hour ago, City Mouse said:

I live in an area with high bear activity. Although I have never seen the actual bear, I often find fresh bear scat in my back yard.

Once bears get to the point that they have lost their fear of people, they are not relocated. They are killed. Relocating just moves the problem to a different location. Bears can travel long distances to find easy access to food sources. 

Relocating the bear to a large sanctuary would solve the problem. Sanctuaries can have acres upon acres of land, but they are still enclosed.

[Carrie12345]

6 hours ago, City Mouse said:

I live in an area with high bear activity. Although I have never seen the actual bear, I often find fresh bear scat in my back yard.

Once bears get to the point that they have lost their fear of people, they are not relocated. They are killed. Relocating just moves the problem to a different location. Bears can travel long distances to find easy access to food sources. 

Our game commission has a certain distance set. According to them, the disorientation is usually (no, not always) enough for them to  quit their funny business. They do track trapped and released bears, so it isn’t just a guess.
DD actually got to tag one once. I think she was 14 or 15 at the time? I was glad to not know until after the fact!

[Carrie12345]

10 hours ago, Carol in Cal. said:

Black bears are generally far less aggressive and dangerous than grizzly bears.  Just saying.

 

9 hours ago, TravelingChris said:

When I lived in New Mexico, a young black bear broke into a cabin and killed an elderly woman.

And dogs have eaten babies. I can’t imagine anything more tragic. But we still recognize that it’s not typical. (And take precautions to keep it as rare as possible.)

[Starr]

There's a reason you don't cook near your tent, or keep any food inside or clothing that could smell like the dinner you just cooked. I have friends that were going to keep their cooler inside the kids tent due to space and my long time Alaskan buddy said that they might as well just put a pork chop around the kids. They decided to put it in the trunk of the car.

[Laura Corin]

On bears - I'm reading A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear. Fascinating story about low taxes and high bear counts.

[Katy]

On 2/21/2022 at 5:49 PM, Laura Corin said:

On bears - I'm reading A Libertarian Walks Into a Bear. Fascinating story about low taxes and high bear counts.

Is that the story of the libertarians in New Hampshire who thought it was government overreach to ban feeding bears, and then as you might expect, disaster ensued?  Or another story?

[Laura Corin]

34 minutes ago, Katy said:

Is that the story of the libertarians in New Hampshire who thought it was government overreach to ban feeding bears, and then as you might expect, disaster ensued?  Or another story?

Yes.  That's the one. It's an interesting, lively read.

Not so much that feeding bears shouldn't be banned, but that when all government services were stripped out, then the forest - with bears - moved in. For example, zoning and building regulations were no longer enforced, so squatter camps grew up in the woods, with chaotic living styles that encouraged bears ..

Edited February 23, 2022 by Laura Corin

[MercyA]

DNA evidence shows that Hank wasn't the only bear breaking into homes and he will not be euthanized:

https://www.kron4.com/news/california/lake-tahoe-bear-hank-the-tank-will-remain-wild-and-free/

“DNA has now proved Hank is not responsible for even half of the bear home incursions. There are three other bears who have been in more homes than Hank… but he was taking the rap… probably due to his size…. and extreme handsomeness,” the BEAR League nonprofit wrote.

“Hank no longer has a death sentence hanging over him and he is no longer going to have his freedom taken away from him by sending him to a sanctuary. We fully support this decision and are grateful for the investigation into the truth,” BEAR League wrote.

So happy about this. Thank you, Jesus (and science, and animal advocates, too!). 🙂

[Carrie12345]

3 hours ago, MercyA said:

DNA evidence shows that Hank wasn't the only bear breaking into homes and he will not be euthanized:

https://www.kron4.com/news/california/lake-tahoe-bear-hank-the-tank-will-remain-wild-and-free/

“DNA has now proved Hank is not responsible for even half of the bear home incursions. There are three other bears who have been in more homes than Hank… but he was taking the rap… probably due to his size…. and extreme handsomeness,” the BEAR League nonprofit wrote.

“Hank no longer has a death sentence hanging over him and he is no longer going to have his freedom taken away from him by sending him to a sanctuary. We fully support this decision and are grateful for the investigation into the truth,” BEAR League wrote.

So happy about this. Thank you, Jesus (and science, and animal advocates, too!). 🙂

I’m very happy for Hank.  
But also a little irked that no one would even fingerprint my cars when we got robbed. Yet the bear gets dna done. Sigh. 😜