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Two bears found dead in South Shore area

Staff report

Nevada Department of Wildlife reported Tuesday that two bears died recently in the South Shore area.

A young female cub was hit and killed by a car recently near Zephyr Cove and two-year-old cub was found dead in a stream, NDOW reported.

“There was no sign of obvious trauma but residents in the area had reported a ‘lethargic, sickly looking bear’ in the area in recent days,” an NDOW news release stated about the bear in the stream.



Secretary treasurer of the Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care Tom Millham said people who aren’t familiar with different bear sounds may be confused by the sound. What sounds sickly can be indicative of a happy bear.

Millham said cubs stick close to the mother bear for the first year or two of their lives.



“Normally if they are first-year cubs, born within the last 9 months, they will stay with mom through the first full winter when they turn one year of age,” Millham said. “That being the case, if they’re not following mom, it’s not unusual to see them get hit by cars or get into trouble.”

Bear activity in the western Nevada area should continue to be busy for the next month, NDOW said

“Sierra Nevada black bears usually go into hibernation in between Thanksgiving and Christmas as food sources become harder to find,” the release stated.

Because bears are going through a state of hyperphagia, a time when bears increase their consumption for hibernation, NDOW reported bears’ food intake can rise from 3,000 calories to 25,000 in one day.

“Their one and only job is eating this time of year and they are very good at it,” NDOW black bear biologist Carl Lackey stated in the release.


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