Photographer Kim Steed was working her Candy Dance booth in downtown when she saw the hubub surrounding three bears. She caught this photo of the cub that climbed a tree rather than brave the shoppers.
Kim Steed | Special to The R-C
A mama and two cubs, who found themselves surrounded by humans attending the annual Genoa Candy Dance, were reunited on Saturday.
The three bears are regulars in Nevada’s oldest settlement.
“A bear with two cubs that are frequently in Genoa were spotted on Main Street and ended up getting separated on either side of the street due to the sheer number of people who showed up,” according to Nevada Department of Wildlife Public Information Officer Ashley Sanchez. “One of the cubs was spooked and ran across Main Street through a crowd, and up a tree as the mother and the other cub hid in a secluded area on the other side of the street.”
Sanchez said state biologists darted the cub, caught it in a tarp, and moved it to the secluded area where the mother bear and other cub were hiding.
“The cub was only lightly sedated, and biologists waited with it about 40 minutes until it was fully awake,” she said. “It then wandered off into the wilderness with its mother.”
There’s a significant apple crop in Genoa after a record winter, and the bears gorging themselves.
“Bears are going through a phase called hyperphagia, when they build up as many calories as possible before going into their dens for the winter,” she said.
People across Western Nevada should take the following steps:
https://www.ndow.org/blog/living-with-bears/
or our partners at BearWise:
https://bearwise.org/bear-safety-tips/keep-bears-out/
for more bear-safety tips. To report bear incidents, call 775-688-BEAR (2327).