2 bears caught in 2 days in Carson

Two bears have been caught in two days in Carson City.

According to the Nevada Department of Wildlife, a 350-pound male black bear was caught Tuesday morning in west Carson City. That bear, state black bear biologist Carl Lackey said, had never been handled before and was expected to be released Wednesday.

Wednesday morning, NDOW officials were called to Mountain Street, where they captured another black bear.

The captures come at a busy time for NDOW as bears remain active in the region.

“Bear activity is spiking as the Nevada Day holiday weekend approaches,” NDOW spokesman Chris Healy said.

Residents throughout western Nevada bear country are asked to do all they can to avoid attracting bears. That includes keeping garbage away from the bears and picking up fruit from trees in their yards.

“We may have handled up to 10 bears in the last 10 days,” Lackey said, “but it’s too busy to give an exact figure. The time for paperwork will come later in the fall, when bear activity slows down.”

Bear activity in western Nevada is expected to remain high for at least the next few weeks. Bears are still in the physiological state of hyperphagia, in which their intake of food can increase from 3,000 calories a day to as many as 25,000.

“Their one and only job is eating this time of year, and they are very good at it,” Lackey said.

Sierra Nevada black bears usually go into hibernation between Thanksgiving and Christmas as food sources become harder to find.

Also in the region, two bears were recently found dead at Lake Tahoe.

A female cub was hit and killed by a car near Zephyr Cove, while a 2-year-old female was found dead in a small stream.

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, Healy said.

To report nuisance bear activity, call NDOW’s Bear Hotline at 775-688-BEAR (2327). For information about living among bears, go to www.ndow.org and find the ”Bear Logic” page.