Bear problem in burn area

By Denis Cuff
CONTRA COSTA TIMES

Article Launched: 07/20/2007 03:05:48 AM PDT

Bears that lost feeding ground and dens in South Lake Tahoe's Angora fire last month are increasingly breaking into homes and vehicles in search of food.
The bears are finding easy targets in places where people leave food and garbage inadequately protected.

Some of those letting their bear guards down are visitors and part-time residents from the Bay Area.

"We're seeing a huge increase in the number of (bear) entries into homes," said Ann Bryant, executive directive of the Bear League, which advises Tahoe basin residents on bear conflicts. "We also have never had so many calls to our office where people sight bears where they've never seen them before. The bears are bewildered."

Adding to the problem, big bears from 3,100 acres of charred land are taking over new territory and pushing out smaller bears in a spiraling chain reaction of displacement that has reached far around the lake.

Bryant said the Bear League has received 130 to 150 calls about bears a day since the fire. Last year, it received about 75 calls a day on busy days.

The Lake Tahoe Wildlife Center in South Lake Tahoe received about six calls about bears a day, double normal levels, in the two weeks after the fire.

The number is down this week, but it's still higher than normal, said Cheryl Millham, the center's executive director.

Neither bears nor people has been injured. But the conflicts escalate the risk that some bears may become so accustomed to breaking into homes that state wildlife regulators may label them a threat and issue permits to kill them, the wildlife groups say.
"When you have people that leave windows and doors open, the bears are going to be tempted," Millham said.

Bears usually raid unoccupied homes, but not always, experts say.

One woman who called Millham's center had placed ripening peaches on her kitchen windowsill and left the window open. A bear picked up the scent.

"The bear ripped off the screen, ate the peaches, and spit the pits back inside," Millham said.

One family evacuating their home had to shoo a bear out of their pickup when the animal hopped aboard to check out uncovered sacks of dog food.

Another woman screamed at a bear sniffing around her barbecue dinner next to an open window, Millham said.

Through trial and error, some Tahoe bears have learned they can push through screens, turn door knobs and break old single- pane windows to enter houses and search for chocolate and other favorite foods.

Once a bear finds food in an area, it is likely to return, wildlife experts say.

They urge people in bear country to secure food in housing and to bear-proof garbage cans.

Doors and windows should be securely closed.

If bears come near homes, people should shout and shoo them away so the animals do not feel they are dominant in the house and yard.

"Too many people run and hide under the bed," Bryant said. "We're trying to coach people that the bears are not welcome in yards. We should let them be wild."