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At 2 a.m., all bears look big, especially one that is walking down your hallway or looking in the front window.
I've never had one in my house, but I've dealt with plenty of bears in the early morning hours, and I've taken plenty of calls from those people that have had them inside their homes.
The one common denominator is that the bear always weighs "at least 900 pounds."
In actuality, most bears in Nevada are about one-third that size, the average is 300 pounds for adult males and 150 pounds for adult females.
The bear's size depends in part on what they are eating, which is the whole reason this issue is being discussed.
Those bears that primarily eat garbage and other foods made available by humans and are considerably larger than the typical "wild" bear.
Garbage fed bears gain weight very easily and can weigh almost double what they would if they were eating natural type foods, mainly vegetation.
Black bears (the only species of bear in Nevada or California) are omnivores, meaning they eat both plant and animal matter.
A black bear's diet is 85 percent vegetation, consisting of grasses, shrubs, flowers, berries and nuts.
They will also eat insects of all kinds, small mammals and carrion.
They are not supposed to be eating human garbage.
There are two common misconceptions surrounding the bears in the Tahoe Basin.
First, that the bear population is growing, mainly because people see them more often.
Second, that the bears are in the urban areas because they are starving, and therefore must be fed.
Both assumptions are wrong, yet understandable to a certain degree.
A recent study by both the University of Nevada, Reno and the Nevada Department of Wildlife concluded that the black bear population in Nevada is stable, at about 150-250 animals.
This number has not changed significantly over the last 20 years.
What has changed is the number of bears that are concentrated in and around the urban areas, such as Incline Village, Cave Rock, Zephyr Cove and Stateline.
The density of bears in these urban pockets is one of the highest ever-recorded in North America, and is directly related to the availability of human garbage.
Bears are not frequenting the urban interface because they are starving, although it is agreed among professional biologists that drought conditions will force bears and other wildlife to search for any other food available.
Bears are opportunistic foragers, meaning they will eat what is most readily available.
Think of it this way.
Why would a bear, which can eat 15,000 to 25,000 calories a day, spend 15 hours foraging on vegetation when it can get the acquired nutrients it needs by spending two hours going through garbage cans?
Not only is human garbage full of high calorie, fatty foods, but also it is dependable (in the same spot every night), predictable (replaced every Wednesday), and available year-around.
This is the main reason some of our bears are active year-around, and never hibernate.
Relocation of these so-called "problem bears" is generally not an option exercised by the Nevada Department of Wildlife.
Almost every single bear that has been relocated in the past, has returned to the capture area, or was hit by a car and killed trying.
Euthanizing a nuisance bear, something that most wildlife managers hate to do, does not solve the problem either, for it is just a matter of time, usually within weeks, before another bear takes its place.
What then is the solution?
Simply put, human garbage must be permanently made inaccessible to bears.
The all too common "rock on the Rubbermaid" doesn't cut it.
That isn't even squirrel-proof.
The only reliable way of keeping bears out of your garbage, and thereby insuring that you have reduced your chances of having a serious bear encounter, is to use an approved bear-resistant container.
In those areas of the Tahoe Basin, like Lake Village HMA, Zephyr Cove Campground and Tahoe Village HMA, that have switched to bear-resistant trash containers, the bears have simply left the area to find more easily acquired food in a place where the people are not quite as responsible.
This doesn't mean the bears have not been in the area, but when seen they are generally just passing through in case someone has been careless.
Very good information on Tahoe's black bears and ways to avoid conflicts can be found on several websites.
These include the Nevada Department of Wildlife at www.ndow.org, and the Tahoe Council for Wild Bears at www.tahoewildbears.org.
Carl Lackey is an animal biologist with the Nevada Division of Wildlife and an expert in bear behavior.
Recognized nationwide, Lackey has captured, tagged and relocated over 150 bears in the past seven years and, in some cases, has had to euthanize problem bears, a part of the job he hates. "When I have to put a bear down, I just stand there asking myself if I could have done something else. I really hate having to do that."
I've never had one in my house, but I've dealt with plenty of bears in the early morning hours, and I've taken plenty of calls from those people that have had them inside their homes.
The one common denominator is that the bear always weighs "at least 900 pounds."
In actuality, most bears in Nevada are about one-third that size, the average is 300 pounds for adult males and 150 pounds for adult females.
The bear's size depends in part on what they are eating, which is the whole reason this issue is being discussed.
Those bears that primarily eat garbage and other foods made available by humans and are considerably larger than the typical "wild" bear.
Garbage fed bears gain weight very easily and can weigh almost double what they would if they were eating natural type foods, mainly vegetation.
Black bears (the only species of bear in Nevada or California) are omnivores, meaning they eat both plant and animal matter.
A black bear's diet is 85 percent vegetation, consisting of grasses, shrubs, flowers, berries and nuts.
They will also eat insects of all kinds, small mammals and carrion.
They are not supposed to be eating human garbage.
There are two common misconceptions surrounding the bears in the Tahoe Basin.
First, that the bear population is growing, mainly because people see them more often.
Second, that the bears are in the urban areas because they are starving, and therefore must be fed.
Both assumptions are wrong, yet understandable to a certain degree.
A recent study by both the University of Nevada, Reno and the Nevada Department of Wildlife concluded that the black bear population in Nevada is stable, at about 150-250 animals.
This number has not changed significantly over the last 20 years.
What has changed is the number of bears that are concentrated in and around the urban areas, such as Incline Village, Cave Rock, Zephyr Cove and Stateline.
The density of bears in these urban pockets is one of the highest ever-recorded in North America, and is directly related to the availability of human garbage.
Bears are not frequenting the urban interface because they are starving, although it is agreed among professional biologists that drought conditions will force bears and other wildlife to search for any other food available.
Bears are opportunistic foragers, meaning they will eat what is most readily available.
Think of it this way.
Why would a bear, which can eat 15,000 to 25,000 calories a day, spend 15 hours foraging on vegetation when it can get the acquired nutrients it needs by spending two hours going through garbage cans?
Not only is human garbage full of high calorie, fatty foods, but also it is dependable (in the same spot every night), predictable (replaced every Wednesday), and available year-around.
This is the main reason some of our bears are active year-around, and never hibernate.
Relocation of these so-called "problem bears" is generally not an option exercised by the Nevada Department of Wildlife.
Almost every single bear that has been relocated in the past, has returned to the capture area, or was hit by a car and killed trying.
Euthanizing a nuisance bear, something that most wildlife managers hate to do, does not solve the problem either, for it is just a matter of time, usually within weeks, before another bear takes its place.
What then is the solution?
Simply put, human garbage must be permanently made inaccessible to bears.
The all too common "rock on the Rubbermaid" doesn't cut it.
That isn't even squirrel-proof.
The only reliable way of keeping bears out of your garbage, and thereby insuring that you have reduced your chances of having a serious bear encounter, is to use an approved bear-resistant container.
In those areas of the Tahoe Basin, like Lake Village HMA, Zephyr Cove Campground and Tahoe Village HMA, that have switched to bear-resistant trash containers, the bears have simply left the area to find more easily acquired food in a place where the people are not quite as responsible.
This doesn't mean the bears have not been in the area, but when seen they are generally just passing through in case someone has been careless.
Very good information on Tahoe's black bears and ways to avoid conflicts can be found on several websites.
These include the Nevada Department of Wildlife at www.ndow.org, and the Tahoe Council for Wild Bears at www.tahoewildbears.org.
Carl Lackey is an animal biologist with the Nevada Division of Wildlife and an expert in bear behavior.
Recognized nationwide, Lackey has captured, tagged and relocated over 150 bears in the past seven years and, in some cases, has had to euthanize problem bears, a part of the job he hates. "When I have to put a bear down, I just stand there asking myself if I could have done something else. I really hate having to do that."
