Black bears will be up and foraging in search of a meal after their winter nap.
John Axtell/Tahoe Interagency Bear Team
Those bears who availed themselves of a long winter’s nap are waking up hungry as the snow melts in the Sierra.
Bears ate an average of 25,000 calories a day in preparation to hibernate over the winter.
Come spring, their body mass will have naturally decreased and, as a result, bears will be on the lookout for easy food sources to help rebuild those fat reserves. Bears will instinctively move to elevations where they can find fresh grasses and other plants, which will bring them into Carson Valley neighborhoods.
The Tahoe Interagency Bear Team emphasizes that properly disposing of and securing garbage is one of the most important things you can do to help keep Tahoe bears wild.
“Always remove food and trash from vehicles, keep windows closed and ensure doors are locked,” team members advised. “Bears can open unlocked car doors and even enter through sunroofs to reach the smallest attractants like a stick of gum. Also lock doors and windows on buildings to prevent bear break-ins. The national BearWise program offers Six At-Home BearWise Basics you can take to live responsibly in bear country.”
“Allowing bears access to human food and garbage is detrimental to natural processes in the region,” team members said. “Bears help spread berry seeds through their scat, transport pollen, clean up animals that died during the winter, eat insects, and provide other essential functions of nature.”
Bears often unknowingly eat indigestible items from human trash like foil, paper products, plastics and metal that can damage their internal systems and even lead to death.
Spring is also the time of year that residents or visitors may see a bear they believe looks unhealthy, sick or orphaned. Bear health concerns should be reported to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife or the Nevada Department of Wildlife. These agencies have the training, expertise, and veterinary resources to assess the bear’s condition and transport it for care, if necessary. Healthy bears mean a healthy Lake Tahoe ecosystem, but it takes everyone’s cooperation to contribute to the success of both.
Visit tahoebears.org and bearwise.org for tips on living in bear country.