'Dangerous' black bear killed at Tahoe

A problem-causing black bear that wildlife officials said was becoming increasingly dangerous was killed Tuesday in Incline Village.

The bear, a 9-year-old, 450-pound male, was captured Monday night or early Tuesday morning, tranquilized and subsequently euthanized with drugs, said Chris Healy, spokesman for the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

The bear was determined to be the same one that had been raiding trash, breaking into cars and knocking over fences in the area and was killed as a threat to public safety, Healy said.

"The bear was continuing to hang around and it became more and more of a concern," Healy said. "It was becoming more aggressive in its pursuit of food and was generally becoming more and more dangerous."

The bear killed Tuesday had previously been captured as a "conflict bear" in 2008 and released.

The bear was the fourth killed as a threat to public safety so far this year. Two were killed near Gardnerville, one on April 1 and another Aug. 13, and a third near Genoa on July 17, Healy said. All had broken into homes in search of food and were deemed a threat to human safety.

Four bears killed for public safety represents a significant increase from last year, when only one bear was put down by the Department of Wildlife because it was deemed a threat to people.

So far in 2015, 12 Nevada bears have been hit and killed by vehicles for a total of 200 killed that way since 1997, Healy said.

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