Bear sightings in Tahoe just part of living in the woods

By Kathryn Reed

It’s the lull before the storm when it comes to bear activity, though Lake Tahoe homeowners who are having their houses broken into might disagree.

Normally this time of year with all the berries, abundance of pine nuts and ripe Manzanita bears have plenty of natural goodies to eat. It often means they are not finding it necessary to search in vehicles or homes for food like they do during the summer.

A bear saunters in the yard on Sonoma Avenue in South Tahoe in 2009. Photo/Joy Rothschild

However, at the September Meyers Roundtable meeting El Dorado County sheriff’s Lt. Les Lovell said one thing keeping deputies busy right now are bear calls.

He suggested people call the department (530.573.3000) if there’s a break-in, but if a bear is just wondering by, that is normal, and no need to do anything.

In South Lake Tahoe, a bear hit three houses on Oakland Avenue early one September evening.

Ann Bryant, who runs the BEAR League, recommends people call her nonprofit (530.525.7297) if they are seeing bears more often than they like or if bears are breaking into houses.

“Sometimes it may be a neighbor doing something wrong,” Bryant told Lake Tahoe News. “We go out and snoop around and determine why a bear is hanging around. We see what we can do to stop it.”

Bryant said before the bears tuck themselves in for the winter expect them to be foraging for food practically around the clock. They tend to find dens beginning in mid-November through early January.

Another source for help is Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care at (530) 577.2273.