CDFW News

Spring Weather Brings Hungry Bears to Tahoe Region

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 11:01:58 GMT

As snow melts across the Lake Tahoe region, black bears have emerged from their dens and are searching for food, signaling the start of a busy spring season for wildlife.

Seasonal Outlook and Impacts

Male and female bears without cubs are already active, feeding on early grasses and plants. Warmer-than-average temperatures and low snowpack, however, could reduce the availability of natural food sources later this year.

Some of the most important natural foods for bears include mast, which refers to nuts, seeds and fruits produced by trees and shrubs. Mast is categorized as hard mast, such as nuts and seeds, and soft mast, such as berries. These food sources are influenced by temperature and precipitation, which affect their growing season, productivity and timing.

With Lake Tahoe snowpack at just 24% of the April average and warm temperatures prematurely melting snow, the Tahoe Basin is likely to see a shortened growing season with average or below average mast productivity.

Black bears are highly adaptable and will shift to other natural food sources, including insects and small mammals. However, studies show that bears living near urban areas often turn to human-related food sources when natural foods are scarce.

“What puts bears at greatest risk isn’t a lack of natural food, it’s access to ours. Encouraging close interactions, allowing bears to den under homes, or feeding bears (intentionally or unintentionally) leads to dangerous outcomes for both bears and people,” explained Bear Management Specialist Sarinah Simons with California State Parks. “If we want healthy bears on the landscape, we need to give them the space to stay wild.”

Bears that rely on human-provided food face a higher risk of mortality. In years with poor natural food availability, reported vehicle collisions involving bears have been shown to double or even triple. As bears travel greater distances in search of food, they are more likely to encounter vehicles and unsecured attractants.

How Can You Help?

Residents and visitors can help reduce these risks by securing potential attractants and following the BearWise Six At-Home Basics:

Never feed or approach bears.
Secure food, garbage and recycling.
Remove bird feeders when bears are active.
Never leave pet food outdoors.
Clean and store grills and smokers.
Alert neighbors to bear activity.

Properly securing garbage is one of the most effective ways to prevent bear conflicts. Food and trash should never be left in vehicles, and vehicle doors and windows should remain closed and locked.

Bird feeders should be removed. A single pound of black oil sunflower seeds contains approximately 2,500 calories, making it a high-reward food source for bears. Alternative methods for attracting birds without attracting bears are available through the BearWise bulletin, Attracting Birds, Not Bears.

Property owners can also take steps to secure buildings. Keeping doors and windows locked can help prevent bears from entering structures. For wooden garage doors, electric deterrents such as wiring or mats may help prevent damage. The Tahoe Interagency Bear Team (TIBT) highly recommend utilizing the BearWise Host Set to display helpful information for your guests.

Lake Tahoe is prime bear country, and it is the responsibility of everyone living in, visiting or recreating in the Tahoe Basin to secure food, trash and other scented items. Consistent practices help keep bears healthy and wild.

Call the Experts

Spring is also the time of year residents or visitors may see a bear they believe looks unhealthy, sick or orphaned. Bear health concerns should be reported to the TIBT’s wildlife professionals at the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) or the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW). These agencies have the training, expertise, and veterinary resources to assess a bear’s condition and transport it for care, if needed.

For more great tips about living responsibly with bears, visit tahoebears.org and bearwise.org.

To report human-bear conflicts:

In California, contact CDFW at (916) 358-2917 or report online using the Wildlife Incident Reporting system at apps.wildlife.ca.gov/wir.
Non-emergency wildlife interactions in California State Parks can be reported to their public dispatch at 916-358-1300.
In Nevada, contact NDOW at 775-688-BEAR (2327).
If the issue is an immediate threat, call the local sheriff’s department or 911.

###

Spring Weather Is Coming, and With It Some Very Hungry Bears

Wed, 29 Mar 2023 16:56:29 GMT

The snow will be melting soon in the Lake Tahoe region and a heavy winter will give way to a busy spring for wildlife in the area. Bears that have been in winter dens will be emerging soon and they will be hungry!

In the fall, black bears went through hyperphagia (pronounced hi·per·fay·jee·uh), which is an increase in feeding activity (consuming about 25,000 calories a day) driven by their need to fatten up before winter. Over the course of the winter, bear bodies utilize those fat stores during hibernation when food is scarce. Come spring, their body mass will have naturally decreased and as a result, bears will be on the lookout for easy food sources to help rebuild those fat reserves.

Heavy Snow Brings Challenges for Bears

Bears in the Tahoe Basin will be in a difficult position this year as they come out of their dens and are met with historic snow loads across their habitat. The grasses and other sprouts that would usually be greening up with the melting of snow won’t be available until much later in the spring. Bears will instinctively move to lower elevations to find those fresh greens, but the snow will make them search for easier routes like roads and trails. This is going to bring bears down into urban areas as they move through the mountains.

As bears make their way through the area, please be vigilant about cleaning up bear attractants. We know a lot of people felt it important to feed the birds this winter, but please do not let your bird feeders feed the bears. Now is the time to take them down completely. Bears can and will be active day and night, so we recommend taking feeders down and keeping them down. We also know proper disposal of garbage can be difficult with snow piling up on the roads, but please take a few minutes to dig out your bear boxes so garbage can easily be secured inside. Clean out your vehicles, especially if you have food stored in your vehicle for winter travel safety. In addition, remember to keep doors and windows locked on buildings so bears cannot break into structures.

Your Actions Can Impact an Entire Ecosystem

Bears play an important role in Lake Tahoe’s ecosystem and allowing them access to human food and garbage is detrimental to natural processes in the region. Bears help spread berry seeds through their scat, transport pollen, clean up animals that died during the winter, eat insects, and provide other essential functions of nature.

As a result, if they find and access human food and garbage, bird seed, pet food, coolers, and other sources of human food, the Tahoe Basin loses the benefits bears offer to these natural processes. Bears need to be wild animals rather than garbage disposals, especially since unnatural food sources can impact their overall health by damaging and/or rotting their teeth.

In fact, bears will unknowingly eat undigestible items from human trash like foil, paper products, plastics, and metal that can damage their internal systems and even lead to death. If these items do make it through their digestive system, they leave it behind in their scat rather than the native seeds and healthy fertilizer needed to grow the next generation of plant life.

Call the Experts

Spring is also the time of year that residents or visitors may see a bear they feel looks unhealthy, sick, or orphaned. If anyone has concerns about a bear’s health, never hesitate to call official wildlife experts. If the bear needs help, state agency wildlife experts have the training and expertise to assess the bear’s condition and transport it to a wildlife veterinarian. Healthy bears mean healthy ecosystems, and we can all do our part to set both up for success!

For great tips about living responsibly with bears, visit tahoebears.org and bearwise.org.

The bottom line is that Lake Tahoe is bear country. It’s up to each one of us, including those living in, visiting, or recreating in the Tahoe Basin to practice good stewardship habits by always securing food, trash, and other scented items. Good habits will help ensure we keep Tahoe bears wild.

To report human-bear conflicts:

In California, contact the California Department of Fish and Wildlife at (916) 358-2917 or report online using the Wildlife Incident Reporting (WIR) system at apps.wildlife.ca.gov/wir.
Non-emergency wildlife interactions in California State Parks can be reported to their public dispatch at (916) 358-1300.
In Nevada, contact the Nevada Department of Wildlife at (775) 688-BEAR (2327).
If the issue is an immediate threat, call the local sheriff’s department or 911.

Keep Tahoe Bears Wild!

###

Media Contact:
Peter Tira, CDFW Communications, (916) 215-3858

Early Summer Is an Active Time for Bear Cubs and Yearlings: Keep Tahoe Bears Wild!

Tue, 21 Jun 2022 16:50:11 GMT

LAKE TAHOE, Calif./Nev. – Summer is here at Lake Tahoe and that means more visitors recreating in bear habitat, which increases the chance of encountering a bear – or a family of bears. Increased visitation also brings more temptations for bears to discover human food and garbage sources.

For Tahoe bears, summer is a time for new beginnings as mother bears (sows) are often accompanied by very small cubs that were born in January or February and are now experiencing life outside the den for the first time. These “cubs of the year” are sticking close to their mothers and learning important survival skills in the wild. They will likely separate from the sow in one year.

Cubs of the year are dependent on their mothers and are taught by their mothers how to forage on natural vegetation, including grass, berries, grubs, and other natural wild bear foods. Sows are protective of their cubs and people need to give them space. Never get in between a sow and her cubs. If you see a cub of the year alone, or up a tree for safety, the sow may not want to leave the area so back away and give them room to reunite.

Summer is also a time for parting ways, as other sows have yearlings with them that were born in winter dens over a year ago. These yearlings are about to be cut loose by the sow so she can search for a mate during the summer breeding cycle. Yearlings vary in size, but they are well-equipped to make it on their own and do not need handouts or human intervention.

This time of year, wildlife agencies receive many calls from people concerned that they have found an orphaned cub when they are seeing a yearling that is safely on its own. A good rule of thumb when determining the difference is to look at the size of the bear. If the bear is the size of a cat (around 10-15 pounds) it is a cub of the year and chances are the cub’s mother is somewhere nearby or may have put the cub up a tree while she goes to forage. Keep an eye on the cub from a very safe distance, and if you do not see the sow after a couple of hours, call the appropriate state wildlife agency below and they will send a wildlife expert out to assess the situation.

On occasion, there are situations in which a cub truly has been orphaned, such as when a sow is hit by a vehicle. In these cases, the proper state authorities, the California Department of Wildlife (CDFW) or the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW), should be called to evaluate the situation and safely transport the cub for evaluation and rehabilitation.

Picking up a cub too soon or while the sow is just around the corner can do a lot more harm than good. Don’t teach these young bears to be comfortable around people! If they are too close, make noise and try to scare them away so they don’t feel comfortable and want to stay.

While it’s fun to see bears and even take pictures and videos, this behavior teaches the bear that it’s safe to be close to you. Bears are smart and acquire learned behaviors based on their experiences. If they have a negative, frightening encounter with a human, chances are they will try to avoid humans in the future. Allowing bears to become comfortable around people can lead to unwanted activity, including breaking into cars and houses or approaching people who are eating outdoors. It is illegal to feed bears both directly and indirectly by allowing them access to garbage or food.

Throughout the busy summer season, the number of visitors to the area steadily increases, and humans must be vigilant with food and trash storage whether at home, the beach, campgrounds, picnic areas or trailheads. Enjoy wildlife from a distance, and don’t attempt to handle young bears. With your help we can Keep Tahoe Bears Wild!

To report human-bear conflicts: In California, contact the CDFW at 916-358-2917, or report online using the Wildlife Incident Reporting (WIR) system at https://apps.wildlife.ca.gov/wir. Non-emergency wildlife interactions in California State Parks can be reported to public dispatch at 916-358-1300. In Nevada, contact NDOW at 775-688-BEAR (2327). For general questions, contact the following agency Public Information Officers: Peter Tira, CDFW; Ashley Sanchez, NDOW; or Lisa Herron, USDA Forest Service. If the issue is an immediate threat, call the local sheriff’s department or 911.

For more information on peacefully coexisting with bears, visit TahoeBears.org.

###

Media Contact:
Peter Tira, CDFW Communications, (916) 215-3858

Photo of a black bear sow with her three cubs courtesy of David Braun, USDA Forest Service, Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit.