Tahoe bear-human encounters on the rise
By Jeff Delong, Reno Gazette-Journal
People and bears have grown a little too close for comfort in the Reno-Tahoe area, a situation increasingly dangerous for both.
Behavior and physical characteristics of bears living near urban areas are altered.
A bear in a South Shore neighborhood in fall 2009. Photo/Janice Eastburn
They’re bigger — sometimes much bigger. Many skip winter naps.
They reproduce early and often. They die young. And every year, aggressive black bears smash their way into homes and cars in food-hunting burglaries that can put them in dangerous proximity to people.
Some experts question if these are still truly bears.
I read the entire story and it’s shocking. I’m all for an ordinance making it mandatory for home owners to install bear boxes. I know they’re not cheap but they are effective. Maybe a tax break could go along with that.
People need to more aggressively chase the bears out of our neighborhoods, instead of running for the camera. We need to make them feel uncomfortable in human surroundings, so they will live in and off the resources of the Forrest, instead of garbage and human food.
We may think it’s cool to be able to get up close to them, but we endanger their lives by doing this, as they will get tagged eventually as a nuisance, and might eventually get into so much trouble that they have to be put down :(
REALLY??!! I can’t believe this article. “Some experts question if these are still truly bears” is one of the dumbest premises I’ve heard in some time. Can we assume that all animals that would choose your refrigerator or cooler contents over foraging for berries are no longer who they really are?
I USE A 20 DOLLAR HYPER SONIC SOUND DEVICE,IT WORKS ON DOGS, RACCOONS, SQUIRRELS,BEARS.
PLUS THE HUMAN EAR CAN’T PICK IT UP ,SO IF YOU GOT A DOG OWNER THAT CAN’T CONTROL THEIR OWN PUP ,THE ZAPPER WORKS EVERY TIME.
FOUND IT ON GADGETS.COM
Burglary?
This sounds more like……BEARglary