The Urbanization of Black Bears, with Toogee Sielsch

What happens when black bears are drawn to urban areas? Here to tell us, is long time Lake Tahoe resident and bear expert, Toogee Sielsch. For Toogee, what started as an interest in black bears quickly snowballed into helping neighbors evict them from under their homes.  He now uses his knowledge and skills to give back through bear safe education, bear evictions, and lending out electric bear mats to community members, all free of charge. The black bear population in Lake Tahoe Basin is incredibly high, with an estimated 2 bears per square mile. This increased density dramatically effects everything about the urbanized black bear, from its behavior and offspring production to its food selection and foraging skills. In this episode, Toogee walks me through the differences between wild and urbanized bears, and what we can do to protect ourselves and our properties from those bears who are far too comfortable with people.
 
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