Bear shooting unnecessary, advocate says

INCLINE VILLAGE -- The head of a bear advocacy group has lashed out at police, calling the recent shooting death of a bear at Lake Tahoe "completely unnecessary."

The 660-pound animal was shot Aug. 2 after it wandered into an Incline Village home through an open window and lunged at a Washoe County sheriff's deputy.

"As far as that officer, he was standing in front of the bear's escape route. What did he want (the bear) to do?" asked Ann Bryant, executive director of the Lake Tahoe-based BEAR League.

"That officer ... should have stepped out of the way and let (the bear) go by. (The bear) was scared, that's all. This (death) was because of ridiculous overreaction and fear-based panic. It was completely unnecessary," Bryant added.

Sheriff's Capt. Steve Kelly said while the black bear's death was unfortunate, the deputy's action was justifiable.

He said a homeowner called for help after finding the bear in the home, then hid with other family members in the master bedroom.

The animal growled and charged through an open window at the deputy, who shot the bear with a shotgun at close range in self defense, Kelly said.

"I don't expect from anyone that works for me to get injured and be reluctant to save themselves," Kelly told the North Lake Tahoe Bonanza. "It doesn't really matter if (the deputy) was in the bear's way. Yeah, that could have been what happened. But I don't expect in those close quarters for (the deputy) to take a moment and think about what the bear was doing, if it wanted to hug him or what."

After being wounded by the deputy, the bear kept going and was tracked to a nearby home, where it was killed by authorities.

Carl Lackey, a biologist for the Nevada Department of Wildlife, said he also thinks the deputy was justified in shooting the bear.

"We will back up the sheriff's department all the time, 100 percent on this situation," Lackey said. "(The deputy) did what he had to do given the situation. I mean, the bear was two feet away from him. He can't wait to find out what the bear's going to do."

Bryant also criticized the family, saying it should have stood up to the bear instead of confining itself to a bedroom. Throwing rocks, pounds on walls and yelling all are effective measures to resolve a bear situation without forcing the animal to be killed, Byrant said.

"The thing that gets me is the family was too afraid to approach the bear. They were scared, so they hid in the bedroom. It's shameful," Bryant said.

"That's why this bear was needlessly shot -- because the family was too afraid to yell at the bear to 'get out' and stand its territory," she said.

Kelly said such shootings will always draw criticism.

"But I can tell you this -- I've trained a lot of deputies that your top priority is to go home at the end of your shift. ... I don't train them to get mauled or chewed up by a bear because they're afraid of public opinion," Kelly said.

The Tahoe Basin has the second highest density of black bears in North America.