Bears are finding it so unseasonably warm in the Sierra Nevada mountain range this winter that many of them are forgoing hibernation in favor of foraging through garbage, bringing them closer to humans and spelling out trouble for the food chain.
Bears in the Lake Tahoe, Yosemite and beyond usually spend December through March napping in caves, but residents and visitors have noticed an increase in bear activity typical of summer months. With temperatures 10 degrees above normal accompanying the California drought, bears have found little reason to hibernate — especially when there is plentiful food in the Lake Tahoe region.
“In this weather, you’re going to see more of them,” Chris Healy of the Nevada Department of Wildlife told the San Francisco Chronicle. “They’re totally content to hibernate, but if the food’s available, they’ll get up and eat.”
The troubling phenomenon has been apparent to residents of the Sierras, where last week’s snowpack measured just 17 percent of normal.
“The local bears are coming out of hibernation three months early!” Tom Loe of Sierra Drifters Guide Service wrote. “I have been forced for the first time in nearly 20 years here to water my
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