Bear Awareness in the Tahoe Keys By Gregory J Hoover, TKPOA Water Quality Manager/ AIS Management Coordinator THE AMERICAN BLACK BEAR, Ursus americanus, is the most common bear
native to North America. The coat of a Black Bear is shaggy and usually black, but it can also be dark brown, cinnamon, yellow-brown, greyblue, and white depending on location. The black bear is approximately 4 to 7 feet from nose to tail, and two to three feet high at the withers. It has small eyes, rounded ears, a long brown snout, a large body, and a short tail. Adult females weigh 100–200 pounds whereas adult males are larger, at 150–350 pounds, though individuals over 600 pounds have been taken by hunters in California. The first thing a bear thinks about, and their prime motivation is FOOD! These animals have a tremendous sense of smell, which guides them on their search for food. Bears are attracted to residences in the quest for an easy meal. Black Bears are smart. They learn rapidly and know where they have found food in the past. Once they have hit the “jackpot” they may damage property to get back at the food source again. Bears can pry open doors, windows, dumpsters, or other structures if they can get their claws or teeth into a crack or opening. Normally they will do this only if they smell food inside or have ‘been lucky’ before. They can easily tear through screens. What you as a homeowner can do:
Eliminate or Mask Garbage and Food Odors
• Deodorize garbage cans with bleach, unscented ammonia, or unscented Pine Sol. • Separate “wet garbage” and keep it in an air and odor tight container. Use garbage disposal whenever possible. Freeze meat bones or other smelly items until pick-up day. • Deodorize soil or other porous surfaces where garbage has been stored and other areas where the bear may have spread garbage around. • Burn off BBQ grid after cooking and clean the drip can.
Eliminate the Source • • • •
Utilize a ‘Bear Proof’ garbage container. Make sure that trash cans and dumpsters are properly secure. Put garbage out on the morning of pick-up, NOT the night before If you cannot be there to put it out, ask a neighbor to help or take it with you for disposal elsewhere.
Keys Breeze
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OCTOBER 2020
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