Wildlife officials deal with hostile bear that sent woman to hospital

USA Today

25-06-2025

A black bear that sent a woman to the hospital, broke into a vehicle filled with sleeping teenagers inside, broke into a car with a child fastened to a child seat inside, and prompted numerous 911 calls has been dealt with by wildlife officials.
The female bear with a long history of human conflict in South Lake Tahoe, including multiple home invasions and vehicle break-ins, was euthanized Monday by a California State Parks ranger, according to the California Department of Fish and Game.
On Sunday at 4:30 a.m., the troublesome bear entered an occupied trailer of a camper at Eagle Point Campground inside Emerald Bay State Park. The female occupant attempted to scare the bear off by banging pots and pans, and screaming at the bear, but to no avail.
The bear forced its way into the trailer and swiped at the camper, leaving her with cuts and bruises on her arms and hand. She was taken to a nearby hospital.
Later that day, the same bear ripped open the door on a camper-van with teenagers sleeping inside, and also harassed other campers in the same campground.
The bear was deemed a 'Public Safety Bear' under CDFW's 2022 Black Bear Policy in California and wildlife officials set out to remove the threat, doing so on Monday.
DNA testing confirmed it was the same bear in the attack on the woman.
On June 10, the bear entered an occupied vehicle at the Eagle Point Campground that had a child fastened to a child seat inside. The bear was unresponsive to multiple efforts to haze it out of human-occupied areas.
The CDFW and CSP had been attempting to trap the hostile bear since June 17. Wildlife officials did capture the sow's two cubs and delivered them to a wildlife rehabilitation facility in northern California in the hope they can eventually be returned to the wild after being rehabilitated.
'As wildlife professionals who devote our careers to the health and well-being of California's fish and wildlife species, euthanasia is a measure of last resort,' said Morgan Kilgour, regional manager for CDFW's North Central Region. 'Our foremost responsibility, however, remains the protection of human life and the safety of the Tahoe region...
'California State Parks is really the gold standard when it comes to human-bear conflict prevention. There is nothing State Parks could or should have done differently at Emerald Bay State Park. State Parks is a model with their well-maintained bear boxes and other bear-proof infrastructure and clean campgrounds. They do a thorough job of educating their visitors and camp hosts on preventing human-bear conflicts.'