(ORDO NEWS) — Residents of the Californian city of South Lake Tahoe discovered a family of baribal bears in the underground of their house, which hibernated here all winter.
The shelter was chosen by a female with three relatives and one adopted cub. To avoid conflicts with animals, the residents had to call in specialists who drove the uninvited guests away. Houses around Lake Tahoe attract 100 to 150 bears each fall, HuffPost points out, which hibernate right below them.
North American baribal bears (Ursus americanus) have adapted well to life in the neighborhood with people. They often settle in the suburbs and look for food in garbage cans (although human food, judging by some studies, is not very useful to them).
And some individuals even arrange dens under houses and in other buildings. Here they rest during the day and spend the winter.
Last winter, family members from South Lake Tahoe, California began hearing suspicious sounds in their home, resembling loud snoring.
They suspected that a bear had hibernated in the underground of their house, but did not do anything. And the neighbors, whom they told about it, refused to believe.
Last week, the residents of the house noticed that their baribal neighbor had come out of hibernation. To avoid problems, they turned to the BEAR League organization, which deals with conflict resolution between people and bears.
Her employees went to the place and decided to drive the intruder away from home. To do this, they resorted to a standard technique – that is, they simply scared the beast.
When the bear got out from under the house, the BEAR League staff saw that it was an adult female. Following her, four bear cubs, about a year old, got out of the shelter.
Thus, not one noisy bear was sleeping under the house, as the residents thought, but five at once. Previously, experts have already met this bear family. According to them, three cubs of the female are relatives, and she adopted another after his own mother was hit by a car.
When the baribals left, the entrance to the underground was blocked with an electric fence. If the bears decide to re-enter there, they will receive a mild electric shock and most likely change their minds.
The BEAR League notes that every year 100-150 bears hibernate under houses on Lake Tahoe. Since bears can be dangerous, experts advise local residents to use electric fences or at least place bowls of detergent under the houses, the strong smell of which is not liked by wild animals. This is especially important in autumn, when baribals are looking for places to hibernate.
Residents of the city of Takikawa on the Japanese island of Hokkaido have begun using a robotic wolf to scare away brown bears (U. arctos).
The beast with red luminous eyes reacts to movements: it is assumed that when it sees a bear, it will start making loud noises, which will scare it away. Robowolf’s repertoire includes wolf howling, dog barking, human speech and the sounds of gunshots.
—
Online:
Contact us: [email protected]
Our Standards, Terms of Use: Standard Terms And Conditions.