CDFW News

Bear Experts Offer Tips for Camping in the Lake Tahoe Basin. Keep Tahoe Bears Wild!

Thu, 11 Jul 2024 16:12:16 GMT

Headed to the Lake Tahoe Basin for a summer camping trip? Black bear biologists who work in the Tahoe Basin every day have some advice and thoughts to share to help keep Tahoe bears wild.

The Lake Tahoe Basin is the heart of bear country and bears in the basin are especially active and persistent in their search for food. Sometimes, the easiest food for them to find is human food and garbage.

“Anyone coming to the Tahoe area should educate themselves on bear behavior and general bear ecology. There are a lot of bears here and those bears have an incredibly strong sense of smell and a strong desire for food that intensifies at different times of the year, particularly in the fall with the onset of hyperphagia,” said Alexia Ronning, an environmental scientist with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and one of CDFW’s human-wildlife conflict specialists assigned full-time to the Tahoe Basin.

Hyperphagia is the biological instinct for bears to fatten up for the winter, which drives them to consistently feed and search for food.

“Read and follow all the camp rules about bears when you arrive and take them seriously,” Ronning said. “If you do have an incident – whether it’s a bear getting into your car or getting into food at your campground – report it to your camp host or the proper government agency.”

Ronning encourages Tahoe Basin campers and visitors to pack a few specialty items to keep them safe while enjoying the outdoors and to help keep the Tahoe Basin’s bears from getting too close and comfortable around people, which is often the source of escalating human-bear conflicts. Conflicts are most likely to occur in settings where human food and garbage are present, such as campgrounds and neighborhoods.

“Consider carrying bear spray and read the product instructions carefully before going camping. Remember to spray bear spray downwind,” Ronning explained. “Bring an air horn and a whistle or bang pots and pans. Those noises will help scare a bear away to a safer distance and the noise will also warn fellow campers and hikers that a bear is nearby.”

Bear-proof ice chests are another essential component to any Tahoe Basin stay.

People assume their ice chests are bear-proof, but in most cases they are not. If they can’t be locked or latched securely with no way to pry a gap between the lid and the cooler, the ice chests need to go into a bear box. Campers need to have all the equipment to store food properly whether that’s a bear-proof canister for the backcountry or a bear-resistant ice chest for the campsite.

Once a bear gets a food reward it is more likely to come back so taking those preventative measures is the best way to keep campers and bears safe.

Toothpaste, deodorant, body spray, lip balm and similar scented items also attract bears and shouldn’t be left in vehicles, tents or loose around a campsite. These items should also go into a bear box or bear-resistant canister.

In the Tahoe Basin, bear encounters aren’t limited to campgrounds or backcountry destinations. Encounters can occur in neighborhoods, business districts and at any time, day or night.

One common problem Tahoe Basin bear experts see is conscientious campers using bear boxes for food storage and bear-proof dumpsters for garbage but not closing them securely. Those must be latched properly to be functional and effective.

Visitors to the Lake Tahoe Basin can play a key role in helping keep bears wild by practicing these strategies and being extra vigilant as bears approach the hyperphagia period.

For more tips and information about bear-safe camping, please see the following video from California State Parks and visit CDFW’s Human-Wildlife Conflicts webpage.

Use the following phone numbers and online resources to report a bear incident or conflict while camping or visiting the Tahoe Basin:

• In California, contact CDFW at 916-358-2917 or report online using the Wildlife Incident Reporting (WIR) system at apps.wildlife.ca.gov/.

• Non-emergency bear collisions in California State Parks can be reported to its public dispatch at 916-358-1300

• In Nevada, contact NDOW at 775-688-BEAR (2327)

• If the issue is an emergency, call the local sheriff’s department or 911.

Learn more about keeping Tahoe bears wild at TahoeBears.org and BearWise.org.

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

Secure Food, Trash and Other Summer Attractants: Keep Tahoe Bears Wild!

Tue, 16 Aug 2022 15:30:25 GMT

*** An Interagency, Lake Tahoe Basin News Release ***

Summer can be a tough time to be a bear.

Green grasses have dried up and berries haven’t quite ripened for eating yet, causing black bears to move around more in search of easy food. This means there is a lot to think about when living, visiting, or recreating in the Lake Tahoe Basin this time of year.

Food on barbecues and picnic tables brings curious bears into neighborhoods and campgrounds to investigate, making it very important always to practice proper food storage.

Never leave food unattended. Any attractant left out becomes accessible to bears and could result in a food reward, which will bring bears back for future visits and make bears think it’s OK to look to humans for food. If a bear approaches, yell at the bear, honk a horn, and scare the bear off before it is rewarded.

If you are unable to chase the bear away, there are others who can help. On National Forest lands, a campground host or employee may be able to assist in moving the bear along and securing attractants. Likewise on California State Parks properties, park rangers can often assist. If you are in a residential area, call 911 for a trained local sheriff to come and help move the bear away from the property.

Bears love barbecues. If you have used a barbecue, grease and food bits left on the grill could be a tasty snack for a hungry bear. After you have finished cooking your own food, keep the grill fired up on high heat for about 10 minutes to burn off any residual food scraps and make the barbecue less attractive to passing bears. Make sure you clean up all food and place garbage in a secure wildlife-resistant container or bear box. Never keep food or garbage in your vehicle. Bears will break in.

The point is this: It is neither natural nor healthy for bears to forage on human food and garbage. This can damage their claws, teeth, and digestive systems. Whether intentional or not, it is illegal to feed bears. Do your part to follow the law and prevent bears from accessing human food and garbage. Human-sourced food keeps bears from participating in the natural ecosystem, which depends on bears to scatter native seeds, control insects, and clean up animals that have died. A healthy, wild bear means a healthy, wild ecosystem.

Here are a few seasonal tips for summer:

Visitors to Home Rentals: If your bear box is full, take your garbage home with you. Please don’t leave it next to the bear box. Bears will get into it and get the food reward before the garbage is picked up, creating more conflicts for future visitors and residents.

Businesses: Always keep your dumpsters locked, even during the day when employees may be accessing them frequently. If dumpsters are overflowing, businesses should make every effort to empty them or find another secured location to place excess garbage.

Campers: Bears will approach at all times of the day. Never leave your food or garbage outside of the bear box, except while closely attended and in use. Diligently follow all campground rules regarding food storage.

Beachgoers: If you bring food to the beach, it must be attended to, and garbage must be thrown away properly. If all bear-resistant garbage containers are full, take your garbage with you so it is not available to bears.

The warm summer days and cool nights in the Tahoe Basin make us all want to open our windows to let in the mountain air. However, as we let the fresh air in, we let food smells out. Black bears, with their keen sense of smell, will gravitate to open windows and doors. It is very important to make sure you close all windows when you are either away from a house or asleep at night.

Bears know when humans are active or present and will take advantage of those quiet times to enter a home through a window or a door to access a kitchen for easy food. Likewise, it is wise to lock your doors. Some bears know how to open doors and locking them is the only way to keep bears from entering a home.

Living and recreating in the Lake Tahoe Basin’s bear country is a year-round responsibility. Please do your part to help keep Tahoe’s bears wild and healthy.

Other year-round, bear best-practices include:

Never feed wildlife. Feeding wildlife often brings animals in conflict with people and attracts wildlife to human homes and neighborhoods where they can get struck by vehicles and encounter other human hazards.
Store all garbage in and properly close bear-resistant garbage containers, preferably bear boxes. Inquire with local refuse companies about new bear box incentives and payment programs. In California, visit South Tahoe Refuse & Recycling Services for information and resources. In Nevada residents should check the Nevada Department of Wildlife’s (NDOW) Living with Bears resources.
Never leave groceries, animal feed, garbage, or anything scented in vehicles, campsites, or tents.
Be sure to always lock vehicles and close the windows. Understand that eating – even drinking coffee – in your car often leaves lingering odors that attract bears.
Keep barbecue grills clean and stored in a garage or shed when not in use.
Keep doors and windows closed and locked when the home is unoccupied.
Vegetable gardens, compost piles, fruit trees, and chickens may attract bears. Use electric fences where allowed to keep bears out. Refrain from hanging bird feeders.
When camping, always store food (including pet food), drinks, toiletries, coolers, cleaned grills, cleaned dishes, cleaning products, and all other scented items in the bear-resistant containers (storage lockers/bear boxes) provided at campsites. Bear-resistant coolers that come equipped with padlock devices should always be locked to meet bear-resistant requirements.
Always place garbage in bear-resistant dumpsters in campgrounds or in bear-resistant containers at campsites (storage lockers/bear boxes), and close and lock after each use
Store food in bear-resistant, hard-sided food storage canisters while recreating in the backcountry.
Give wildlife space. Enjoy wildlife from a distance, especially when they have young with them.

To report human-bear conflicts in California, contact the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) at (916) 358-2917 or report online using CDFW’s Wildlife Incident Reporting (WIR) system at apps.wildlife.ca.gov/wir. Non-emergency wildlife interactions within California State Parks property can be reported to public dispatch at (916) 358-1300. To report human-bear conflicts in Nevada, contact NDOW at (775) 686-BEAR (2327). If the issue is a direct threat or emergency, call 911 to seek immediate help from local law enforcement.

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

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

Photo:
Courtesy of the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

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.

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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.