State still collecting evidence in dead bear case

By Kathryn Reed

The investigation involving the killing of a bear by a South Shore resident should be wrapped up by the end of the month. Ultimately it will be up to the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office if charges are filed.

A necropsy – aka animal autopsy – was done on the 2½-year-old bear that was shot July 9. The cause of death was presumably because it was shot in the backside with buckshot from a shotgun, according to Patrick Foy, captain with the California Department of Fish & Wildlife.

A bear was shot to death last week on the outskirts of South Lake Tahoe. Photo/Toogee Sielsch

The bear was found the next day sprawled on its back at the base of a tree off Pioneer Trail near Minniconjou Drive.

A game warden with the state did not see any blood, but instead used other tracking techniques that led him to a house in the area. Foy told Lake Tahoe News a man in his 70s admitted to shooting the bear and told authorities he did so in self-defense.

It is legal to discharge a firearm in the basin and shoot an animal if one believes his or her life is in jeopardy or property needs protecting.

Foy said the shooter, whose name has not been released, had inquired about a bear depredation permit earlier this year, but chose not to get one.

This bear was not tagged – meaning it had not been captured before as a nuisance bear.