Bear claws tent at Camp Rich, leaves camper with scratches
By Bill Lindelof, Sacramento Bee
State fish and game officials warned the public to take precautions to avoid encounters with bears in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
The warning comes in the wake of a black bear tearing at a tent at Camp Richardson over the weekend.
The camper suffered shallow scratches on his back in the late-night attack on Sunday. The camper said that he had no food in the tent, leaving it unclear why the bear was so intent on getting inside.
The bear had been seen around Camp Richardson prior to the incident. After the camper suffered his injury, state department of fish and game officials said the bear had to be killed because it was a threat to public safety.
Officials warn that bears are constantly searching for food. Access to food or garbage at a campground or in residential neighborhood Dumpsters attract bears.
Bears that get used to scavenging garbage or camp food grow bold and lose their fear of humans.
With all the snow in the high country still, we are likely to see many more bears in town than usual this year as they search for food. The camper may not have had any food in the tent but bears are also attracted to other items that may be scented.
While it is unfortunate that the camper was injured in the incident, I still do not believe the killing of the bear was justified. Black bears are hardly a “threat” to public safety, rather it is the public that is a threat to bear safety.
You are right Aron, that camper is at fault. He had something in his tent, food, toothpaste, gum, garbage. It all attracts bears. He isn’t the only one, all those campers are drawing in the bears because of food and garbage. Tahoe is not strict enough with enforcement of the rules to keep bears safe.
People were hand feeding that bear steak and throwing rocks at it. They were also chasing it around the campground and harrassing it. They should be fined. Poor bear!
I was there with my wife on sat. evening when we encountered a bear(WE LEFT)…WE are in their home,this is nature,they are cute but not safe and or not to be trusted. we must respect this and secure our children and family.”BE SMART AND ALIVE,NOT DUMB AND DEAD.”
Killing the bear should be a crime… We are encroaching in their habitat. So he got some scratches, id say thats a memorable souvenir for the guy. Now he has to live with being responsible for the bear being killed while he was on vacation. Relocate them if you have to… What a bummer….
I am sorry this individual was hurt.
I would love to know how the Forest Service will identify the correct bear to kill. Unless they can accurately identify the offending bear they will simply be killing the first bear unlucky enough to get caught in their trap. This does not solve anything and may leave the offending bear in the area and not solve the real problem, people.
Why isn’t there a question as to why a bear was seen earlier in the campground with no actions to scare it off? The real issue is people not being bear aware while visiting bear country. We should save the money spent hunting random bears in the offending area and invest our time and money educating people. When visiting bear country you might encounter a bear…. no really!
I do not appreciate having my neighborhood bears killed.
Make that Fish and Game and scratch the Forest Service. My mistake.
I agree with all the above posts. I am sickened at the description of the people there, feeding the bear and harrassing it. The blood of this bear is on their hands. Perhaps some literature should be provided by Dept. of Fish and Game and/or The Bear League to ALL Tahoe area campgrounds that must be read and signed by the people camping informing them of how to deal with bears. Once informed, campers should be cited (and kicked out of the campground) for feeding or harrassing these beautiful animals. Another senseless killing caused by the ignorance of humans. Sad.
I’m above Fallen Leaf Lake and I just heard a vey loud gunshot. I hope they’re not taking out another bear.
This is one of the biggest issues that I have had over the 20 years I have lived here. Learn to live with the wildlife…residents and tourists. Bears, as well as coyotes are opportunists. Please do not feed the bears, and/or leave foodstuffs or trash out at anytime. If your trash is picked up at 0600, do not put your trash out the night before!!! If you are camping in the basin, please realize that you are in bear country…and smart bear country because of your predecessors. Humans should not blame the wildlife for taking advantage of a situation. Those animals care about few things, survival being number one. Humans need to get a grip, and stop whining. We are merely a pimple on the butt of progress, be it evolutionary, or whatever.
The difference between we “humans” and other animals…is that we make conscious decisions. Enough said.
It is to sad to hear another bear is dead, People leave our bears alone ,or go home , if you cant go by the rules , you have no right to be here, ,sad sad sad,laws are laws do not feed bears or you will go to Jail, or fined .
Actually, throwing small stones and yelling at the bear is something the BEAR League encourages as a way to make bears feel unwelcome around people and drive them back into the forest where they belong.
Feeding the bear was illegal and foolish and guaranteed that the bear would eventually be shot to death.
While I’m truly sorry a camper got hurt, it doesn’t sound to me like he personally did anything to provoke the bear. If a bear finds food in a tent just once, from then on he will view tents as food sources.
I’m not aware of any human ever having been attacked by a black bear in the Tahoe basin. Injured, yes, but not attacked. There’s a difference between being viciously attacked and simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time. I am now aware of three humans who have been injured — but not attacked.
I’ve lived in So. Shore for almost 50 years with 31 years working for the local garbage company. I’ve had a lot of run ins with bears getting in the trash or food left out, even a greasy bbq pit or two.
I’ve really noticed that over the years the bears are no longer scared off by throwing some rocks or shouting. The bears are no longer afraid of people or some guy throwing a rock.
It’s only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or killed. We need better education of our visitors and locals alike. People need to secure their food and trash. A more aggresive program by fish and game staff would keep the bears away from populated areas.
Relocation does’nt seem to work and we don’t need any more dead bears.
We wouldn’t kill the tourist for being an idiot, but the bear goes after a potential source of food and he now loses his life when WE have invaded THERE home!!! Don’t quite get that?
I’ve been visiting SLT area near Camp Rich for 50 plus years and only recently have seen bears invading homes (in spite of food being removed from sight, no soft containers, dog food, etc.) Now bears are breaking into cabins by smashing thru plate glass windows & forcing doors with their massive strength. It’s only a matter of time before a serious injury or fatality of a person, especially a child, occurs. Bears prowling close to campgrounds ought to be destroyed. Sorry, folks, but that’s reality. There is hardly a shortage of bears in the Lake Tahoe Basin, rather a population explosion of them, something like 5 or 10-fold in the last 20 years. Remove the offenders for public safety. There are plenty left.
Bears, whether Black or Grizzly, are not cute, cuddly creatures. They are wild animals who may or may not view humans as food. They do NOT want to be your friend, but they will gladly follow you around for whatever food you have on hand. They cannot be allowed to hang around your campgrounds, your homes, your stores. Those of you who have commented that it is the bears’ home and humans are the invaders are right, but the invaders are here to stay. As there are more and more bears encountering more and more people, there will be an increase in property damage, injuries, and deaths, both bear and human. Some bears are more tolerant of humans than others, but since you have no way of knowing which bears are likely to attack and which are not, the best you can do is keep them away be driving them away. I am sorry if that means some bears will have to be killed so that other bears reqain their fear of humans.