We recently returned home from an outing with our dog and found these two baby bears in our garage! They had come through the doggie door! Mama bear was waiting for them just outside of the doggie door. Our dog chased the mama into our back yard, a neighbor dog heard the commotion, ran over and chased the babies up a tree out front. It was quite a commotion and very exciting. Those babies are sooo cute, and yes, I did get a picture of them up in the tree, but….
Bears are wild animals! They are meant to be afraid of humans, but they’re losing their fear of humans as easy access to food (mainly in the form of garbage – but they don’t know that!) becomes more and more common. In our neighborhood, three houses have been broken in to this summer, and another family was at home with the doors open and the baby bears and the mama came in the house! Unfortunately, more development in Tahoe and recent fires like the Caldor fire has encroached on their habitat. “They’re hungry and they’re looking for food and roaming everywhere”!
If a bear is reported for property damage it is tagged, monitored and if the problem continues, euthanized. There is no bear relocation program in the Tahoe Basin. “Problem bears” are often killed due to human behavior. Please check out these tips from the Bear League and help keep our Tahoe bears safe. It is possible to coexist if we are educated and informed about bear behavior and appropriate human behavior while in bear country.
FYI: we have blocked off the doggie door, are keeping windows and doors closed, and locking our car doors, always!
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