Holbrook black bear gets the heave ho

A bear that had been raiding garbage in Holbrook Junction was collared and released on Leviathan Mine Road on Friday.

The 240-pound 4-year-old bear was picked up by Nevada Department of Wildlife Biologist Carl Lackey after he received a call from Douglas County Sheriff's Office there was a bear up a tree near Highway 395 and the Holbrook rest stop.

The bear had a lacerated foot. Lackey put a radio collar on the bear so he could be tracked.

"I don't think he had been hit or shot," Lackey said. "I received the call Wednesday evening about the bear being too close to Highway 395."

Having to tranquilize the animal, Lackey kept him until the drug wore off and could be released back into an unpopulated area near Leviathan Mine.

"This had been a nuisance bear in the Holbrook area because of the garbage that people leave out," Lackey said. "This one has been ranging the area to as far away as Smith Valley."

Every year state wildlife officials have dealt with an increasing number of bear complaints from Douglas County residents as the county population spreads into more rural areas. According to the state, bear complaints in 2006 spiked with 312 complaints, consuming 451 hours of personnel time and the expenditure of 5,400 miles.

Of these complaints, 95 percent were garbage related, only five were depradating pets or livestock. According to a report in the NDOW Big Game Status Book, the spring of 2006 was warmer and milder than past years and the ensuing abundance of fruit on backyard fruit trees brought many more bears into conflict with humans.

Once bears become accustomed to human food and availability they become a nuisance and have to be moved to a less populated area. Relocation, which usually fails, is not an option.

"Bear Education" using traps and aversion conditioning will sometimes work if the original attractant is removed.

This technique uses non-lethal rubber bullets, pepper spray and specially trained dogs to educate the bear before releasing to the area it was captured in.

Lackey stressed the point of human responsibility to secure garbage, remove or make attractants inaccessible before further steps are taken by the Department of Wildlife. In most cases this will help keep the bears from returning.