A female bear with “a long history of human conflict” was euthanised in California after being attacked.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) announced in a June 24 blog post on its website that it worked with California State Parks to remove the bear from the South Lake Tahoe area following an attack on June 22.
The CDFW reported that the bear entered a “occupied caravan belonging to a camper at Eagle Point Campground,” which is located in Emerald Bay State Park. The camper tried to “scare the bear off by banging pots and pans” and “screaming.”
“Undeterred, the bear forced its way into the trailer and swiped at the camper, leaving her with cuts and bruises on her arms and hand and requiring an escorted trip to the hospital,” the Department of Fish and Wildlife reported.
However, that was not the only incident reported that day; the same bear “ripped the door open on a camper van with teenagers sleeping inside” and was later “reported harassing other campers within the same campground,” according to the agency.
According to the CDFW’s 2022 Black Bear Policy, the bear was designated as “a danger to public safety” and was “targeted for immediate removal” as a result of the attack and subsequent incidents. According to the policy’s guidelines, if a “bear is determined to be an imminent threat to the public,” it should be “euthanised as quickly as possible by a department official or a peace officer.”
A female bear was found on June 23 near the Eagle Point Campground and euthanised by a State Parks ranger. The agency used DNA testing to confirm that the bear involved in the attacks was the same one.
“As wildlife professionals who dedicate our careers to the health and well-being of California’s fish and wildlife species, euthanasia is a last resort,” Morgan Kilgour, regional manager for the CDFW’s North Central Region, said in a statement. “Our foremost responsibility, however, remains the protection of human life and the safety of the Tahoe region.”
The female bear was also the subject of “multiple 911 emergency calls and unrelenting conflict activity,” according to the CDFW.
“DNA evidence linked the bear to multiple attempted home and vehicle break-ins along Cascade Road in South Lake Tahoe and many confrontations at the Eagle Point Campground,” said the law enforcement department.
The bear had also entered a vehicle at the campground with a “child fastened to a child seat inside.” The CDFW stated that different agencies attempted to “haze” the animal to get it to leave the area, but the bear was “unresponsive to multiple attempts.”
The bear was a mother to “two 5-month-old cubs,” who were later transported to a “wildlife rehabilitation facility” to be cared for.
“Bear cubs learn everything from their mothers—good and bad behaviour alike,” Kilgour said in a statement. “A mother bear that constantly searches human-occupied areas for unnatural food sources, and breaks into homes and vehicles, teaches this behaviour to her cubs and perpetuates another generation of human-bear conflict.”
“Removing these cubs from this conflict activity early in their lives gives them a chance that they can return to the wild and live as wild bears should,” according to Kilgour.
