Bear Naked Truth

Goings-on with black bears in the Tahoe Basin and beyond

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  • September 20, 2022
A young black bear with a skin condition receives veterinary treatment from CDFW.

Olive as a young bear in a fight for her life received intensive veterinary care from CDFW wildlife veterinarians to alleviate a skin condition that left her mostly hairless and unable to return to the wild. CDFW photo.

It was something of a soft launch in the spring of 2021 when the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) placed a young, orphaned, female black bear with a skin condition with the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary in Sacramento County.

The zoo had lost its popular 25-year-old black bear, “Marty,” to old age and had space to accept another bear. Currently, the zoo also has another black bear resident, “Henry,” a massive, 647-pound male that also arrived from CDFW as an orphan in 2003.

The small female bear with a chronic and unsightly skin condition that caused her to lose most of her fur was quietly welcomed into the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary without fanfare or public notice.

Not all wild bears, even young ones, transition well to life in captivity. Those arriving with chronic medical conditions can be especially problematic, requiring a disproportionate amount of veterinary attention and resources for zoos and other animal sanctuaries. As these entities typically operate as nonprofits, they are often dependent on outside fundraising to meet expenses and tend to be on very tight budgets.

The prognosis for the “hairless bear” was not optimistic when CDFW recovered the sick yearling from the west shore of Lake Tahoe in April of 2021. The bear was in very poor shape. Bears with such extensive medical problems often have underlying issues and almost never recover to the point where they can make it on their own in the wild, even with medical intervention.

After delivery to CDFW’s Wildlife Health Lab (WHL) in Rancho Cordova, wildlife veterinarians went to work right away. A full veterinary exam, blood work, X-rays and skin tests were completed. The bear had very thickened skin with crusts all over. Tests confirmed CDFW’s initial suspicions of a severe, chronic skin infection known as a Trychophyton fungal infection. Based on WHL’s previous experience with similar cases and consultations with veterinary specialists, a battery of intensive treatments commenced, including weekly clinical baths, a suite of antimicrobial drugs, a carefully constructed diet and heaters to help the hairless bear maintain body temperature during the cold nights.

WHL’s experience with similar bears has been that because of the long-term treatments required, the bears can become “habituated,” which means they lose their natural fear of humans and can associate humans with food. Physically, there’s also the potential for irreversible damage to the bear’s hair follicles as a result of the skin condition. In either case, it means these bears cannot be released back to the wild.

CDFW explored placement options for the bear pending successful treatment of the skin infection and found a willing taker in the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary.

The bear was transferred on May 25, 2021, weighing just 80 pounds. She was quarantined within the zoo’s bear exhibit for another six months – kept out of the public display and separated from the massive Henry until she became more comfortable with zookeepers and the routine at the zoo.

“She went out on exhibit in mid-November 2021 after she was more comfortable with groups of people,” said Jocelyn Smeltzer, manager of the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary. “We let her take her time and show us when she was ready to go out on exhibit. I’m glad we gave her the time she needed to settle in because she has been doing very well on exhibit ever since.”

So well, in fact, that the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary felt confident and comfortable to publicly announce on its website and related social medial channels the bear’s official introduction this past New Year’s Day.

Today, the 2-year-old female bear, which the zoo has named “Olive,” weighs a healthy 195 pounds and is still growing. She lives adjacent to – but still physically separated – from Henry. There are no immediate plans to unite the two for safety reasons given their size differences but sharing an exhibit with Henry or future zoo bears remains a possibility if the bears can demonstrate they will get along.

Olive’s fur has grown back to varying degrees. And while her coat may never be as full and thick as her counterparts in the wild, nobody is likely to call Olive the “hairless bear” again.

“The Folsom Zoo has been a wonderful partner over the years, providing a great home for a number of bears such as Olive that are not able to return to the wild,” said Deana Clifford, CDFW’s senior wildlife veterinarian. “As wildlife veterinarians, our top priority always is to return the animals in our care back to the wild. When that’s not possible due to medical reasons or other issues, we work to find the best possible placement options where these animals can live out their lives with the care and attention they deserve and the ongoing veterinary support they often need.”

Olive, a light-colored black bear, looks out from her enclosure at the Folsom Zoo Sanctuary in Sacramento County.
Olive makes her public debut at the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary in 2021. Photo courtesy of the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary.

Olive, a black bear housed at the Folsom Zoo Sanctuary in Sacramento County, lives in a rich enclosure with trees and other natural surroundings.
Olive lives in a rich enclosure with natural features such as tree limbs to climb. Photo courtesy of the Folsom City Zoo Sanctuary.

Categories: Disease
  • May 9, 2022

Now that the snow has sufficiently melted and spring has sprung, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has resumed Trap-Tag-Haze efforts in the Lake Tahoe Basin.

Since 2017, CDFW has caught, tagged, collected DNA and released 36 bears as part of its Trap-Tag-Haze bear research and management efforts in the Basin.

This spring, CDFW will focus initially on the South Lake Tahoe area, where a few different bears have broken into homes since the summer of 2021. Although reports have slowed, these bears have caused significant property damage throughout the neighborhood known as the Tahoe Keys.

If the large bear that recently garnered significant media attention is trapped, it will be evaluated by CDFW veterinarians for release into the wild. A release site in appropriate bear habitat has already been identified that should provide the bear plenty of habitat to transition to wild bear behaviors. The bear will be monitored with a satellite tracking collar that will help determine if the management effort is effective.

All other bears captured will be ear-tagged and hazed upon release (loudly chased to provide a negative association with humans and habituated behavior).

DNA evidence collected through Trap-Tag-Haze efforts already has shown interesting family relatedness among bears displaying similar activity. In other words, mother bears are likely teaching negative and nuisance behaviors to their offspring.

Some monitored bears have successfully acclimated to wild habitats outside of town while others have returned and continued to exhibit habituated behaviors, which means associating people, homes, cars, campgrounds, coolers and the like as sources of food.

Following the South Lake Tahoe Trap-Tag-Haze efforts, CDFW will move the operation to the western and northern sides of the Basin. The video below further explains CDFW’s innovative Trap-Tag-Haze program.

Categories: Research, South Lake Tahoe, Tahoe Keys
  • September 9, 2021
A South Lake Tahoe home shows damage on its garage door where black bears broke in.

Property damage caused by black bears in South Lake Tahoe during the Caldor Fire evacuation. CDFW photo.

Caldor Fire evacuees returning to the South Lake and West Shore areas of Lake Tahoe should be aware that bears have been seeking out human food sources during the evacuation and taking advantage of the lack of human presence. As you approach your residence, look and listen carefully for signs that a bear has been or is in your home. If a bear is in your home, call 911. Do not attempt to chase it out yourself. Your safety is your responsibility!

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) encourages residents to make repairs to damage caused by bears as soon as possible. Easy access and a food reward encourages bears to keep coming back looking for more. Never leave food or water out for bears. It is illegal, for one, and can lead to escalating problem behaviors such as break-ins and human-bear contact that may result in death of that bear. Learn more about how to keep the Tahoe Basin’s black bears healthy and wild in the aftermath of the Caldor Fire here: wildlife.ca.gov/News/returning-tahoe-evacuees-visitors-urged-to-secure-properties-resist-providing-food-and-water-to-bears

The following CDFW images show some of the additional property damage caused by black bears in South Lake Tahoe during the Caldor Fire evacuation.

Three black bears feast upon raided pet food they took from an RV after breaking in while South Lake Tahoe was under evacuation as a result of the Caldor Fire.

A recreational vehicle with a broken door shows the after-effects of a bear break-in during evacuation in South Lake Tahoe as a result of the Caldor Fire.

A garage door in South Lake Tahoe has a hole in it -- the result of marauding black bears during evacuation as a result of the Caldor Fire.

Categories: South Lake Tahoe, Wildfire
  • June 25, 2021
A GPS black bear tracking collar, completely clasped and encircled, sits by itself on the forest floor within the Stanislaus National Forest.

The "Kings Beach Bear's" GPS tracking collar as biologists found it this spring on the forest floor. CDFW photo by Mark Abraham.

In wildlife work, happy endings, feel-good stories and grand conclusions can be elusive.

Such is the case with the “Kings Beach Bear,” the big black bear that made national news in 2020 by entering local businesses on Lake Tahoe’s North Shore in search of food and crashing Kings Beach get-togethers, sending partygoers fleeing and helping itself to birthday cake and other treats. In the end, researchers may never know the ultimate fate of the animal also known as the “Safeway Bear” or the “Chevron Bear” for the Tahoe businesses it so brazenly frequented.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) scientists recovered the bear’s GPS tracking collar April 6 deep within the Stanislaus National Forest, near Beardsley Reservoir in Tuolumne County. The bear’s collar was completely intact, clasped closed and lying on the forest floor about 27 air miles southwest of CDFW’s Leek Springs Ecological Reserve in El Dorado County, where the bear was originally released Sept. 6, 2020.

“The collar had been sending satellite signals from the same location since January, but because of the snowpack, we couldn’t access it until April,” said Shelly Blair, CDFW’s unit wildlife biologist for Alpine and El Dorado counties. “We think the bear slipped the collar months before we could get to it. Originally, we thought the bear was denning in that location, but the site where we recovered the collar did not have any denning areas that we could find.”

Earlier collar signals showed the bear made a successful crossing of Highway 88 and passed through the Mokelumne River drainage above Salt Springs Reservoir into Amador County in October.

While bear scat and bear prints were found near the collar recovery site, no carcass or other evidence turned up indicating the current state of the bear. CDFW scientists suspect the collar – a modified, refurbished elk tracking collar – came free as the bear lost winter weight in the wild – removed from a diet of human food and garbage around Lake Tahoe.

CDFW trapped the Kings Beach bear that first week in September 2020. A veterinary exam revealed an old – more than 15 years old – male bear weighing a whopping 512 pounds with bad teeth and a poorly healed injury on its left hind foot. Due to its old age and lack of available space, placement in a permanent wildlife facility or zoo was not an option. The bear was taken to a large expanse of wild habitat on CDFW property in El Dorado County and released. In addition to a GPS tracking collar, the bear was outfitted with two identifying ear tags – a metal tag in its left ear numbered 1217 and a plastic orange tag in its right ear numbered 1274.

Although the bear’s whereabouts are unknown, CDFW does know that the bear stayed in the wild – for a few months at least before shedding its tracking collar. As far as CDFW is aware, the old bear has never returned to Lake Tahoe's North Shore where it caused such a stir last year and earned its celebrity status.

Categories: Kings Beach, Research
  • May 14, 2021
A tranquilized male bear lies on a gurney, blindfolded, as its vital signs are monitored at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care.

A young male bear, one of the "South Shore Four" rehabbing at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care the past year after being orphaned as a cub, is sedated while being outfitted with identifying ear tags and a GPS tracking collar prior to release back into the wild in April. CDFW photo by Shelly Blair.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) licenses and partners with nearly 100 private wildlife rehabilitation facilities around the state that provide important care, shelter and veterinary services to injured, orphaned and other displaced wildlife of all kinds.

What happens to these animals upon their recovery and release back into the wild often remains a mystery. That’s true even at the only two rehabilitation facilities licensed in California to work with black bears: The San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Campus in Southern California and Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care in South Lake Tahoe.

While the rehabilitated bears are almost always outfitted with an identifying ear tag or two prior to release, a feel-good video of the bears fleeing a portable trap on their way to freedom is often the last time biologists and wildlife rehabbers ever see them.

With a second chance at life in the wild, do the bears revel in their newfound freedom and stay as far away from people as possible and successfully transition to natural food sources? Or, after months of being cared for and closely watched at a rehabilitation facility, are the bears more comfortable around people, seeking out the nearest rural communities for the easy access to human food and garbage they can often supply? Do bears kept together in a rehabilitation facility and released together stay together in the wild? If so, for how long?

These are among the questions CDFW wildlife biologists are seeking answers to with the recent release of the “South Shore Four” – four young black bears, two males and two females, rehabbing together the past year at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care where they arrived as young-of-the-year cubs. Three of the four were orphaned when their two mothers were hit and killed by cars – one of the female cubs suffering a broken leg from a vehicle strike.

Fully recovered, weighing between 150 and 190 pounds each and old enough to survive on their own, the “South Shore Four” were released into a nearby national forest last month, two bears at a time. Three of the four cubs were fitted with GPS tracking collars that will alert biologists to their whereabouts four times a day if canopy cover allows. Biologists also receive a mortality signal 12 hours after no movement so that recovery and cause of death can be determined.

“We’re hoping to understand their movements directly after release, whether or not the ones that were released together stay together, the distances they travel and where they’re going,” said Shelly Blair, CDFW’s wildlife biologist for Alpine and El Dorado counties. “This is essential information to monitor the after-effects of almost a year in captivity and where they go. If they’re moving toward trouble – a campground or a community – we’ll be able to see that and get ahead of it if possible.”

GPS-tracking collars are an important research tool for wildlife biologists but also something of a precious commodity that cost between $800 and $2,000 each.

The collars are fastened around the bears’ necks with surgical tubing that will expand as they grow. After a few months of exposure to the elements, the tubing will deteriorate, and the collars will fall off to be recovered later. At that point, the South Shore Four’s research contributions will be short and likely complete, but will yield valuable information about the bear rehabilitation program and help improve CDFW's efforts to ensure the best possible outcome for these animals to be successful wild bears.

Video: Watch as two of the 'South Shore Four' are returned to the wild.

Categories: Public Safety, Rehabilitation, Research

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