At the Lake: Bear is euthanized after encounter with woman

TAHOMA - A bear was killed by wildlife officials last Wednesday evening after a Tahoma resident reported it had clawed at her leg, marking the second bear killing of the season in the Tahoe Basin.

The 150-pound yearling black bear had been spotted numerous times outside the home, playing with a golden retriever that had been tied up for several days in a row, according to a report from the California Department of Fish and Game.

During initial complaints to the BEAR League, a Tahoe-based organization that promotes peaceful coexistence between bears and humans, Executive Director Ann Bryant said she suggested the woman not tie the dog up, move the dog food indoors and employ aversion tactics to dissuade the young bear from returning.

Despite the BEAR League's advice, the Tahoma woman continued to leave her 4-month-old dog tied up outdoors, resulting in additional encounters with the wild animal, Bryant said.

"In her words, the dog and the bear were playing when she tried to get the dog away from the bear, and the bear ended up swatting at her ankle," Bryant said.

The woman then contacted the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office and the California Department of Fish and Game to report the incident, and the bear subsequently was located and killed in a Tahoma neighborhood.

"Anytime an animal hurts or threatens to hurt a human, it is considered a threat to public safety, and those animals are killed," said Fish and Game spokesman Patrick Foy.

The woman received "minor injuries" - scratches on her leg - from the attack and sought medical attention after the incident, said El Dorado County Sheriff's Office Lt. Les Lovell.

The first bear to be euthanized in the basin this year was earlier this spring after a string of complaints were made about a bear breaking into numerous Timberland homes, Bryant said.

"The West Shore has been known to be very bear-friendly, and unfortunately, that makes it so people don't have a desire to be tough on the bears," Bryant said. "You have to enforce boundary lines or the bears will not learn."

After a record-setting year in 2007 in terms of bear conflicts, wildlife officials and bear advocates have been working on solutions to deter the bears, Bryant said.

The BEAR League is working with a trash-bin manufacturer to retrofit bearproof Dumpsters to make the bins more secure, Bryant said.

"We had really good bearproof Dumpsters before, but they required humans to proof it correctly, and people weren't doing it," she said. "These new Dumpsters are smarter than humans."

The League also hired 50 more response team members to assist with black bear nuisance calls and property damage incidents, she said.

Fish and Game also is taking steps to avoid a repeat of last year by teaming up with the Nevada Department of Wildlife to share information, personnel, equipment and supplies to address the increasing number of interactions between bears and humans, said Fish and Game spokesman Steve Martarano.

"We're tripling our coverage this year in Tahoe," Martarano said.

- Tahoe Daily Tribune staff writer Adam Jensen contributed to this report.