SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (WJW) — A black bear has been “removed” following an attack on a camper in a state park near Lake Tahoe, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) reported.
The bear — which had “a long history of human conflict,” according to CDFW — reportedly broke into a trailer on June 22 in search of food and injured a camper who was attempting to get the animal out of the space by yelling and banging pots and pans. The woman had to be taken to the hospital for treatment on cuts and bruises.
The same day, the bear ripped open a campervan where teens were sleeping and was “harassing” other people at the Eagle Point Campground, CDFW said.
Earlier in the month, the same bear had reportedly gotten inside a vehicle where a child was in a car seat. Multiple agencies had then tried to move the bear away from human areas at Emerald Bay State Park but she was undeterred.
All of this led the bear being deemed a “public safety bear” and it was euthanized on June 23.
“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,” Morgan Kilgour, regional manager for CDFW’s North Central Region, said in a statement. “Our foremost responsibility, however, remains the protection of human life and the safety of the Tahoe region.”
The bear was a mother to two 5-month-old bear cubs, which have since been taken to a wildlife rehabilitation facility.
This article by Laura Morrison was first published by Yahoo News on 1 July 2025. Lead Image: Getty Images photo.
Wildlife in catastrophic decline
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