bears

UPDATE: Nevada Department of Wildlife personnel captured a large male black bear Wednesday morning behind the Reinhold Sadler House on Mountain Street, a couple of blocks from the Governor's Mansion.

The bear was hit with one tranquilizer dart and then climbed a tree, where it stayed for 30-40 minutes, until it was driven down with pepper spray and hit with a second dart, in front of several onlookers.

Bear activity around Carson City continues to keep Nevada wildlife managers busy. A 350-pound male black bear was caught early Tuesday morning in west Carson City.

The bear had never been handled before and was expected to be released sometime Wednesday morning, said Nevada Department of Wildlife black bear biologist Carl Lackey.

Even though we knew that there were local bear sightings recently around Carson City, we were caught off guard early this morning when we discovered a bear in our back yard.

At 2:55 a.m. my husband was woken up to the sound of a distress call. The whimpering sound was right at the back door of our house. Michael went out onto our back patio to check out the commotion and he came face to face with a baby bear. As he turned around to come back in the house, I called the Carson City Sheriff's Office.

As the Columbus Day weekend began in western Nevada, high-profile black bear activity in west Reno grabbed most of the Nevada Department of Wildlife’s attention. While west Reno is still experiencing bear sightings, the west side of Carson City, Yerington and the outskirts of Gardnerville have all joined the “fun” with bear activity of their own.

A 200-pound female yearling bear decided to explore the streets of Carson City on Friday night, climbing over fences, going through backyards and finally climbing up a tree before being tranquilized by a Nevada Department of Wildlife game warden.

The hungry bear cub was even chased by a couple of cows when she lumbered through Lompa Ranch field, said Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong. Deputies and two mounted officers on horses had been pursuing the bear since early Friday evening attempting to coax her west toward the foothills.

Hello fellow anglers, the weather is cooling and the sun now setting at 7:30 p.m. A few things to remember this time of year. The yellow jackets and the bears are out in full force getting ready for winter hibernation. Both fierce and are looking for all the food they can get. But we have to remember that feeding bears is against the law.

Last week, I wrote about our visit to the remote Ookpik Wilderness Lodge on Babine Lake in British Columbia.
This week, I would like to offer a suggestion for taking a 2014 vacation trip beginning in Smithers, British Columbia, traveling to Watson Lake in the Yukon and returning to Smithers.

It will basically replicate the trip we took, after our return to Smithers from staying at the Ookpik Wilderness Lodge. If you are interested and if you have the vacation time, you might want to consider a 2014 Canadian vacation trip.

Two Sierra Nevada black bears, a mother and her cub, were released in the foothills in Douglas County near Kingsbury Grade Thursday night after being caught by Nevada Division of Wildlife officials earlier that morning.

A female black bear and her cub, both having a recently acquired taste for honey, were caught Thursday morning in the Foothill Road area of Carson Valley by the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

The adult female was caught in the trap at around 2 a.m., said Chris Healy, spokesman for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. A trap was set in the area 10 days ago because there were complaints of bears doing damage to bee hives. The female cub was up a tree, above the trap, when biologist Carl Lackey responded.

A yearling male black bear was released early Friday evening in the mountains west of the Carson Valley, the Nevada Department of Wildlife reports.

Biologist Carl Lackey, accompanied by Karelian Bear Dog, Rooster, released the bear and applied the proven “aversive conditioning” treatment as the bear scurried toward freedom with the dog on its heels, said NDOW spokesman Chris Healy.

A male black bear was tranquilized Friday morning in Gardnerville Ranchos by Nevada Department of Wildlife wardens and will be set free later west of Gardnerville in the Carson Range.

The yearling male was found up a tree at a residence south of the downtown area of Gardnerville. While not typical bear habitat, it does see bears wandering through occasionally.

The 80 to 100 pound bear is of “dispersal age” said NDOW biologist Carl Lackey.

ANGEL LAKE, ELKO COUNTY, NEV:
The Nevada Department of Wildlife (http://www.ndow.org) reports:
Fishing varies from day to day, with some days being good, while others being slow. Best time of day is from about 6:00 am to 10:30 am and then again after the shadows start to hit the water in late afternoon.
Best conditions seem to be with a 5 to 10 mph breeze, putting a small chop on the water.
A few fish are being taken with small dry flies, mostly yellow in color, but most of the luck is still coming with nymphs below an indicator or dry fly.

Here is this week's fishing report for rivers, lakes and stream in Nevada, Northern California and the Sierra. This report is for the week of July 17-23. Be sure to pack sunscreen, plenty of cold beverages and your fishing license.

Headed to Lake Tahoe or the backcountry for the weekend? Well, bears and other critters are headed out into the wild too after spending winter and spring inside their own nooks and crannies. And, like you, they're up for some exploring.

Oh, and they're hungry, too.

Last week, Elaine and her Mom spent five days enjoying all kinds of fun things to do in San Diego, Calif., on their once-a-year Mother-Daughter outing.

They flew roundtrip from Reno to San Diego with some great internet discount tickets from Southwest Airlines.
Then at the airport, the hotel shuttle picked them up and took the two of them to the Wyndham Hotel, which is located on the edge of the harbor.

Each year we celebrate National Police Week in May. In Nevada, the celebration kicks off in Las Vegas with a relay run to Carson City. Public Safety Officers carry a baton that bears the names of those officers who have given their lives in the line of duty on the inside of the baton.

On Wednesday, the day before the statewide law enforcement ceremony, the baton and runners passed through Douglas County and did the hand-off to the Carson City Sheriff’s Office SWAT members at the RV area in Indian Hills. The SWAT team then ran the baton to the Legislature where the spot has been held.

With an increasing population and possibly attracted by an improving landscape, Nevada’s black bears may be on the march east to parts of Nevada’s interior where they haven’t been found for decades, according to a new report by scientists.

In our many wanderings in the Great Outdoors in the last few years, Elaine and I have encountered all kinds of wildlife and birds; and I thought that it might be fun to share some of those encounters in the hope that, you too, might also experience some unforgettable memories.

So, with that as a lead-in, here's where to look and what you might see, and don't forget to take your iPhones or digital cameras for photos:

by SCOT JENKINS

Bear hunting was illegal in Nevada for 82 years until, in 2011, Governor Sandoval chose not to interfere with the Nevada Wildlife Commission’s hunting regulation.

On Mar. 7, Senator Aaron Ford patiently listened to a battle of clashing cultures when Nevadans voiced their concerns over a bill that would classify the black bear as a protected mammal, effectively prohibiting the Board of Wildlife Commissioners from authorizing the hunting of black bears.

by MOLLY MOSER and STEPHANIE GLANTZ 

The Nevada Senate Committee on Judiciary met on Mar. 6 morning to hear Senate Bill 75./Photo by STEPHANIE GLANTZ