Increased human-bear conflicts in South Lake Tahoe as bears prepare for hyperphagia

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - If you've been experiencing an increase in bear activity in your neighborhood in South Lake Tahoe, you are not alone. As the seasons change entering fall, we are nearing the peak period when bears prepare their bodies for winter.

Hyperphagia is the biological need to fatten up before a bear goes into a den for the winter. Even though the urbanized black bears around Lake Tahoe are not all going into hibernation, they still prepare their bodies for the possibility of reduced access to food. Hibernation is nature's way of handling a lack of food for bears, but with a year-round food source, warmer weather, and less severe winters, bears don't have to den for months at a time.

A bear will become more aggressive as they prepare for winter, and several South Lake Tahoe neighborhoods are experiencing an increase in bear activity, and not just what was normally experienced in the past.

"We are seeing more activity in South Lake Tahoe than we ever have before," said Ann Bryant, executive director of the Bear League. "There are a lot of bear entries into houses right now."

Bryant said there is an increase in human-bear conflicts at this time, but the South Shore is seeing that at a much higher rate than other areas around the lake.

Toogee Sielsch, a South Lake Tahoe urbanized bear expert, said he is aware of 18-24 break-ins, or attempted break-ins, by bears each week in the community. He said they have become more aggressive, busting through windows and breaking doors of homes, and many have been occupied at the time. Toogee said the break-ins are not limited to one neighborhood, and they've been increasing in the Al Tahoe, Highland Woods, Cold Creek, and Plateau Circle neighborhoods, among others.

"Bears want food, people are freaked," said Toogee. "We will see this activity for the next couple of months. The bear behaviors are at levels never seen before."

He has been called out to numerous homes to help with bears in the last few weeks around South Lake Tahoe. He is also finding many bear daybeds throughout the community, and still moves bears finding their way under homes.

The Bear League is loaning out several electrical mats weekly. Each is priced at $500 - $700, and the nonprofit received a grant that allowed them to buy many of the mats, and Bear League will loan them out. They had to order more this week, a sign of the growing need. The mats provide a negative reinforcement, zapping the bear at a door or window, whichever route they have taken into the home.

"All of the bear conflicts come down to two things - access to food, and access to garbage," said Peter Tira of the California Department of Fish & Wildlife (CDFW). He said if you manage trash, manage food, you manage the bears.

Many will point to the Caldor and Tamarack fires as a cause of the increased aggressive behaviors, but Toogee said these actions were seen increasing before them though fires allowed them free reign. The Caldor Fire did bring bears into a South Lake Tahoe smorgasbord - a town with no residents to scare them away and homes full of food left behind. The "out of town" bears felt welcome and food was easy, and the need to go forage as they were born to do was no longer necessary.

There are a bunch of factors together that are contributing to the increase of human-bear conflict. Unsecured garbage in dumpsters is still the main attractant, and while one home may be doing everything right, a nearby home is not. The bears are now going door-to-door to check out what is inside that they could eat.

Yes, it's all about the food and the bears aren't looking to hurt anyone. A South Lake Tahoe woman was injured in August when she surprised a bear in her home. It is never what anyone wants, but the bear was euthanized after DNA was collected and the bear was trapped at the home again.

With the increase in human-bear conflicts, CDFW has hired two wildlife conflict specialists and looking to hire four more, all for the Lake Tahoe Basin. These scientists will be dedicated to the basin and will help the conflicts end peacefully, according to Tira.

The specialists will work with residents, share best practices on co-existing with bears, and help with preventative measures to reduce conflicts. They will be the resource for neighborhoods, businesses, homes, etc., and help with options and suggestions in addressing the behaviors. They will evaluate neighborhoods, the situations, and take measures as they work with all areas and the attractants and bear hot spots.

"We are committed to supplying the resources," said Tira. People can log on to https://apps.wildlife.ca.gov/wir and fill out a Wildlife Incident Report (WIR) or call 916.358.2917. The forms and calls will be routed to the Lake Tahoe conflict specialists.

While it may seem drastic, the "to do" task list for a more bear-proof home includes removing bird feeders, no apple trees, removing pet food and water from outside bowls, keep doors and windows locked (this goes for vehicles too). Food doesn't have to be in the car or home, but they look just like cars and homes where they found food before.

This is time to watch bears under houses (over 100 under-home dens in SLT according to Bryant). Close up crawl spaces, block off decks. "Secure your crawl space openings before they get in," said Bryant.

"We have to drive the line somewhere on what we are going to allow the bears to do," said Bryant. "We are asking for trouble if we don't address it before that point. The line is where a bear touches a human."

Not only has the current situation been escalating the human-bear conflict, but it is also been contributing to unhealthier bears with bad diets, bad teeth, and putting them closer to cars, and the forests miss the benefits of bears roaming through them. Tira said they were like the garbage cans of the forest, eating natural food, wasp and bee nests, and their scat would spread and help stimulate new growth.

There has never been a reported death due to a black bear in the Lake Tahoe Basin, though a few have been swatted at and scratched, possibly bit.

Bryant said we need to make sure we don't experience a fatality or it would be "a war on bears."

Another "don't" on the list of what not to do to reduce conflict, is to not block the exit point for a bear that has found its way into a home. The exit point is their entry point, and they won't figure out a secondary way out when in panic mode.

Toogee suggested "unwelcome mats" at the door of homes, just like the electric mats the Bear League lends out. He also said there has been some success with carpet tack strips on plywood at entry points. He doesn't suggest nails as some residents have turned to as they could harm the bear. Some people are taking his suggestion of placing coffee cans full of rocks or pennies (or other loud items) that will cause a noise when a window is broken in. The homeowner could wake up and scare the bear before it enters, or the sound alone will scare the bear. Some homeowners in the Al Tahoe area have placed plywood over their windows to be safe.

When the situation gets dangerous, some homeowners have turned to CDFW for depredation permits, but Tira said those are very rarely issued.

"Depredation is a last resort. To receive [the permit] you have had to have taken a number of steps to resolve [the situation] peacefully," said Tira. The new specialists will investigate and scrutinize the situation and work with homeowners as a plan to address the conflict before it gets to depredation and euthanization.

This is also bear hunting season, though the closest area is the Tahoe National Forest. The state's quota hasn't been met in years, perhaps with California outlawing the use of dogs while hunting. Bear tags are used as a management tool, but are not widespread since many don't use the meat. To date, just over 100 bears have been hunted in the state, but they are not our Tahoe bears.

CDFW also continues its "Trap, Tag, Haze" program, when needed. It has been used in the off-season at parks and campsites, and in different communities. The biologists with the department use the DNA and other data for a database and provide conditional behavior to keep away from conflicts.

For more black bear information, visit the newly updated Black Bear policy and other CDFW news at https://wildlife.ca.gov/Keep-Me-Wild/Bear and from the Bear League at http://www.savebears.org/.