Bears on the move around west Carson City in search of food sources to fuel up for winter
Submitted by Carson Now Reader on Tue, 09/27/2022 - 8:44am
Carson Now reader Rachel R reports having a late night visitor off of Kings Canyon near Long Ranch Park in Carson City overnight as seen in this photo. The bear seems to have visited their neighbor as part of their adjoining fence, which was knocked down.
Meanwhile, early Sunday morning a mother bear and three of her cubs were spotted taking a casual sidewalk stroll in the Kings Canyon Road area.
Bears are on the move this fall, looking for food sources to prepare for winter, according to the Nevada Department of Wildlife.
Bears are typically active and foraging during the spring but in fall, black bears experience changes in metabolism that drives the need to consume as many rich calories as possible.
Motivated by signals from nature known as zeitgebers, the bears increase their daily caloric intake from 3,000 calories per day to upwards of 25,000 calories per day, according to NDOW.
Areas most at risk of attracting bears by granting access to garbage and other attractants are the Tahoe Basin, west Carson City and the foothill areas of Douglas and Washoe counties.
This metabolic spike is an important signal to the bear to bulk up and gain the fat that will sustain the animal through hibernation and periods of lean food sources, NDOW says. Scientists estimate that black bears may forage as many as 20 hours a day at this time.
During this transition, residents in bear country are asked to diligently manage food, garbage and other attractants around the home and yard in order to avoid attracting bears. NDOW recognizes that bears rummaging through garbage or eating apples in backyards may be perceived as a concern and possibly frightening.
"However, it is your responsibility while living or recreating in bear habitat to remove these attractants before further steps are taken by NDOW. Don’t wait until it’s too late: remove attractants before you have a bear encounter," according to NDOW's Bear Logic webpage.
