Just this week, nine black bears were captured in the Lake Tahoe area in a two-day span,Nevada Department of Wildlife officials said Thursday. Two mother bears and three cubs were captured in Reno, Nev., while a sow and two cubs were corralled near Stateline. A 2-year-old bruin was caught near Carson City. A 10th was struck and killed by a car in Reno.
"Nothing much gets in the bear's way when they are this hungry," Carl Lackey, the agency's chief wildlife biologist, told the Associated Press. "Nature's dinner bell is ringing."
According to officials, 42 black bears have been caught since July 1, and 40 were released back into the wild. Two repeat offenders had to be killed, the agency said; 10 were killed by cars.
The influx was expected. The drought, coupled with cooler temperatures, has resulted in the bears coming down from the foothills to scavenge residential areas for food in preparation for winter hibernation. According to Nevada Department of Wildlife spokesman Chris Healy, bears typically eat up to 25,000 calories a day — the equivalent of 80 McDonald's cheeseburgers, he said.
Last year the Nevada Department of Wildlife captured 97 bears between July 1 and Dec. 1, up 14 from the 83 the department snared in 2012.
"It's pretty wild," Healy said of the recent bear barrage.
In July the department launched a bear-awareness campaign aimed at educating Nevadans to, among other things, "properly secure their garbage."
While a nuisance to local residents, bear attacks in the Tahoe area have been rare.
