South Lake Tahoe conflict bear 64F  Credit: CDFW file photo

Time to Secure Food, Garbage and Recycling: Keep Tahoe Bears Wild!

November 3, 2024 - Autumn is here, and black bears are entering a temporary physiological state known as “hyperphagia.” During hyperphagia, also known as the fall feeding frenzy, bears consume as much as they can to bring their fat stores to a level where they can survive the quickly approaching winter months.

In the fall, an adult bear can consume 20,000 to 24,000 calories a day and can gain multiple pounds per day. To achieve this rapid growth in fat stores, wild bears begin foraging most of the day and night and may travel beyond their normal home range in search of food. The increased drive for food can lead bears to seek easy, calorie-dense meals in residential areas if food, garbage and recycling are not properly stored.

To keep Tahoe bears wild while they bulk up for the winter, the Tahoe Interagency Bear Team (TIBT) wants to remind residents to stick to BearWise principles(opens in new tab) by using bear-resistant garbage carts and bear boxes, removing bird feeders, storing pet food inside and cleaning outdoor grills regularly. Bears will follow their noses and this year’s rollout of the semiautomated, three-cart collection system in South Lake Tahoe(opens in new tab) and new disposal requirements make it even more imperative that residents do whatever they can to prevent bears from accessing human sources of food.

The national BearWise program offers the following tips to reduce the chances a hungry bear finds your trash:

GARBAGE AND RECYCLING PICKUP: If you have garbage pickup once or twice a week, put your trash cans and recycling containers on the curb the morning of pickup, never the night before.

RINSE: Take time to rinse out and clean cans, bottles and containers, including carry-out containers and pizza boxes so the odors don’t attract bears.

COMPACT: The less space your trash and recycling take up, the more space the garbage trucks will have.

GRIND UP: Now is the time to put your garbage disposal to work. More down the drain means less out at the curb.

FREEZE: Keep a bag in your freezer for anything that might smell before it gets picked up. Add it to your trash the morning of pickup.

STORE SECURELY: If your garbage container is not bear-resistant, keep it inside a sturdy building until the morning of pickup. If it is bear-resistant, keep it closed and latched.

Learn more about bear behavior this time of year at TIBT’s Black Bears in Autumn(opens in new tab) YouTube video.

For information on acquiring approved bear boxes and managing trash and recycling in the Tahoe Basin, visit the South Tahoe Refuse & Recycling Services website(opens in new tab).

Use the following phone numbers and online resources to report a bear incident or conflict while camping or visiting the Tahoe Basin:

• In California, contact the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) at (916) 358-2917 or report online using the Wildlife Incident Reporting (WIR) system at apps.wildlife.ca.gov/
• Non-emergency bear collisions in California State Parks can be reported to its public dispatch at (916) 358-1300
• In Nevada, contact NDOW at (775) 688-BEAR (2327)
• If the issue is an emergency, call the local sheriff’s department or 911.

Learn more about keeping Tahoe bears wild at BearWise.org.
Source: CDFW