Slow bear season this year

A wet spring helped keep bears at bay this summer, said Nevada Department of Wildlife biologist Carl Lackey.

"Overall it has been a very slow season," Lackey said.

A wet spring helped grow an abundance of grasses and berries in upper elevations for the bears to forage, while a slower tourist season kept trash bins empty, Lackey said.

Since January, Lackey has dealt with 26 bears - either to trap, tag or kill. Of the 26, 19 were trapped and released, three were hit by cars, two were killed for public safety reasons and one bear was killed for being persistent and extremely bold in a residential area. One bear died of unknown reasons.

Compared to 2007, when Lackey came in contact with 26 bears in less than one month, 2009 is shaping up to be a slow year. So far, he's received 154 calls about bears this year.

"We're not even going to hit 200 this year," he said.

In 2007, NDOW received about 1,500 bear-related calls.

Since 2008 was also a slow year for bear activity, some bear cubs may be learning to forage in the forest instead of in trash cans - a good sign for future bear populations.

"If these cubs learn bad habits there is a decent chance they will continue those bad habits," Lackey said. "If they learn good habits they will pass those on."

However, bear activity can be at the whim of the weather, Lackey said.

"This can change at the drop of a hat," he said. "If we get a dry winter and a dry spring I am looking at 1,000 complaints. It's really related to climatic conditions."