Urbanized black bears topic at final Tahoe History Talks at the Beach of the summer

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Join the Lake Tahoe Historical Society for its final Tahoe History Talks on the Beach of the summer with speaker Toogee Sielsch, our resident urbanized black bear expert. It will be held at Lakeview Commons in South Lake Tahoe on Tuesday, August 1 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Last year's July issue of National Geographic featured an article about wild animals adapting to city life. Professional photographer Corev Arnold spent three years exploring urbanized animals across the country as he created his story, "Why Cities Are Going Wild." It was Toogee's job to find the bears and Corey's job to take great photos.

Toogee taught himself about bear behavior during his daily early morning two-hour walks in the late 1990s. From those walks to today, Toogee helps many different agencies move bears without lethal weapons and with different techniques he has learned over the years.

In his daily life, Toogee is a senior vector technician for El Dorado County. In his non-paid life, Toogee helps move bears from spaces they do not belong and is a go-to person for news agencies about urbanized bears from NPR to the BBC.

The event is free but the Lake Tahoe Historical Society appreciates all donations.