Bear an unwelcome guest at family's Carson City home

Mary Alice Murdock had an unexpected visitor over Memorial Day weekend, but she figured the guest was just passing through. Now, six months later, her visitor has worn out its welcome. But Alice and her husband, Bob, faced a new problem:

How do you tell a nearly 400-pound black bear to pack its bags and leave?

"He's been around since Memorial weekend, off and on, and he has become more aggressive recently, so we insisted that something be done," said Alice.

The trouble began during the summer as the bear started punching holes in the couple's fence, exhibiting increasingly aggressive behavior.

"He broke the support boards on the fence in two. We have French doors on the house, and if he could bust through the fence, he could get into the house if he wanted," said Alice.

The bear recently broke into the couple's garage in search of food, helping itself to items in the freezer and munching on dog food and garbage. The bear is also a big fan of apples off the tree in their yard.

"The Fish and Game (Department) guy said (the bear) had garbage for appetizers, frozen food for dinner and apples for dessert," said Alice.

So Carl Lackey, game biologist with the Nevada Department of Wildlife, set a trap on the couple's property in Lakeview to catch the bothersome beast.

The trap is a large barrel that has a weighted gate and is baited at one end to lure the bear in and contain it so it can be relocated. Lackey's bait of choice is day-old doughnuts, pastries and syrup.

The bear was captured and removed early Thursday morning and was scheduled to be released this morning.

But, the couple's visitor is no ordinary bear - it's the same bear that has made several appearances in Carson City, including on the Capitol grounds in early October and in the Meadowbrook Drive/Arizona Circle last month.

"This is the famous 105 Bear that was caught at the Capitol. He's one of our research bears; we will continue to track his movements over the next year," Lackey said.

Alice said she has lived in the Lakeview area for 25 years and has only recently had problems with the bears, which began, she said, following last year's Waterfall fire.

-- Contact reporter Jarid Shipley at jshipley@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1217.