South Lake Tahoe is home to many black bears. Additionally, it is the home to many black bear activists. Recently, a wildlife official was mobbed by activists while hazing a bear that broke into a residential home.
Brazen Bear Breaks Into Home, Almost Sets It On Fire
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You know there are a lot of activists in an area when they are becoming a public safety concern as much as the animals they are trying to protect. Recently, a wildlife official was mobbed by activists while he was hazing a bear that had broken into a home. South Lake Tahoe has had several break-ins lately, although they are not in the way that you may expect. Rather than robbers after valuable possessions, it has been black bears after food. Outdoor Life shares that "black bears have grown so accustomed to human food that they are now virtually dependent on it." So when a black bear broke into a resident's home last Thursday, it was not that big of a surprise. At least not to wildlife officials.
When responding to a call about a bear break-in, wildlife officials noticed another nearby home with clear signs of a bear break-in. Outdoor Life shares that the other home had "a window pushed in and trash scattered around." Both of those are common signs of bear activity. After approaching the house, the wildlife officials detected the smell of gas and observed various items melting on the stove. They assumed that a bear had accidentally turned on the stove while rummaging for a snack. Once first responders arrived at the scene, a female bear and her cub fled the home. They ran into the nearby woods, climbing up a tree for safety. Wildlife officials linked that particular female, identified by her yellow ear tag, "to at least 12 home invasions in the last five weeks alone."
Luckily, the first responders were able to get to the scene quickly and prevent the house from burning down.
Wildlife Official Mobbed By Activists While Hazing Bear
While the first responders were dealing with the threat of a fire, the wildlife official decided to keep the two bears from returning to the home. To achieve this, he planned to haze them away from the home if necessary. The wildlife official from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife stood at the base of the tree with a paintball gun. A nearby bear activist watched the scene unfold and incorrectly assumed that the official had been given a "shoot-to-kill" order. This activist sent out a social media post, ringing the alarm for all nearby activists. The post asked them, if they are in the area, to "go act as a respectful witness."
That doesn't sound like it would be a problem at all. However, Outdoor Life claims that as the CDFW staff member was monitoring the bears, the public arrived "threatening the staff member's safety and using vulgar language to incite fear." While some claim activists mobbed the wildlife official, the activists argue they were just protecting the bear, affectionately named Hope, and her cub. They even shared a follow-up post, detailing how they are still keeping a close eye on the bear. The CDFW agency released a statement claiming that they never had any intentions of shooting or tranquilizing either bear, yet wildlife activists are not convinced.
The Internet Reacts
Similarly, it appears that the public favors the activists' opinion. Here are some of the comments left under their follow-up post.
"The only option should not be to kill things when it's inconvenient. We have to be better at conservation of our wildlife and environment. Humans are the parasites."
"If local officials would just STEP UP and be more like the ones in Yosemite (HUGE fines for irresponsible people that feed the bears, either intentionally or not), then problems like this would happen far less! It's not a "bear problem," it's a human problem!!!"
