This 500-pound bear damaged 38 California homes. Now it could be euthanized

A 500-pound black bear damaged 38 houses in California — sometimes while people were home, wildlife officials told news outlets.

The massive bear prompted more than 150 calls to police and wildlife officials in the South Lake Tahoe area, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife told KCRA.

It’s been “wreaking havoc” on the exclusive Tahoe Keys community and has become dependent on the people living in it, according to the news outlet.

The residents have been dealing with break-ins from the bear for months, CBS 13 reported. They’ve come to know the bear.

The bear made South Lake Tahoe its “home turf for years,” according to South Tahoe Now. It’s become too comfortable with humans, and it could be killed for it.

California Fish and Wildlife officials said they’re exploring every option to keep the bear and the community safe, South Tahoe Now reported. They’ve looked into moving it to a sanctuary in Colorado, and it’s been hazed.

“The trapping activity is a measure of last resort to capture and euthanize a specific, and what we call a severely habituated or human-food conditioned, black bear,” wildlife official Peter Tira told KCRA. “For months – and despite hazing and other mitigation efforts, the target bear has caused extensive property damage and forcefully entered several homes.”

Activists, however, said the bear shouldn’t be killed. The BEAR League, a nonprofit in Lake Tahoe dedicated to living peacefully with bears, said neighbors are furious that a bear trap has been set up.

Someone even spray-painted “bear killer” on the back of the trap, a photo shows.

“Neighbors told them the bears would break the door to get inside. Owner’s were not willing to make changes,” the BEAR League said on Facebook. “Bear came back, got into the garage again. Rather than fixing the problem the owners called for a trap.”

In California, wildlife officials can grant a “depredation permit” to kill a bear if the homeowners have taken steps to bear-proof, The Sacramento Bee reported. A bear trap will be placed on their lot.

Since 2017, 71 permits have been given to property owners, but only 13 bears were killed, state officials told The Bee.

Some people think the system leads to homeowners who have bear problems getting harassed by local activists who believe no bear should be killed.

“Killing bears has never and will never be the solution,” Ann Bryant, the executive director of the BEAR League, told The Sacramento Bee in December. “Another bear will quickly take the dead bear’s place.”

This story was originally published February 17, 2022 at 1:08 PM with the headline "This 500-pound bear damaged 38 California homes. Now it could be euthanized."