The recent killing of a young black bear by a homeowner near Lake Tahoe has infuriated residents, including neighbors who dispute the man’s story. The fatal shooting happened around 1:30 p.m.
on Memorial Day in an unincorporated neighborhood of El Dorado County, about 2 miles south of Lake Tahoe Airport. Steve Gonzalez, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the man told investigators he was in his living room with his dog when a bear entered the home. “He tried getting up and scaring off the bear by yelling at it and waving his arm, but the bear was acting in a menacing fashion,” Gonzalez said.
“So, he retrieved his rifle that was nearby and shot the bear twice.” He said the wounded bear ran off and climbed up a tree — but fell to the ground because of its injuries. “The man approached the bear, saw that it was suffering and humanely euthanized it,” Gonzalez said.
The man was not injured. Gonzalez said a Fish and Wildlife warden investigated the shooting, and no charges were filed. But the killing of the young bear has angered some residents, including Ann Bryant, director of the Bear League, a nonprofit based in the Lake Tahoe Basin.
She said two members of the league were sent to the neighborhood to document what had occurred after receiving a call from a distraught neighbor who had witnessed the shooting. Bryant said the team members learned from the neighbors that the bear was never completely inside the house and that the ho.
