About – BEAR League – People living in harmony with bears

WHO WE ARE – OUR HISTORY

In the fall of 1998, a beautiful mother bear (named Natalie) and one of her two young cubs were killed by a contract trapper for the California Department of Fish and Game. Her crime? Being in the wrong place at the wrong time. A big male bear had tried to get some improperly stored garbage from the cellar of a cabin where a tourist was renting. The tourist was afraid of bears and called the DFG to kill him. The death trap was set but it was Natalie who went in. One cub was captured and killed. The other cub stayed high in the trees, crying, and would not be captured so he survived and was cared for by the people in Homewood, along Tahoe’s West Shore.

This whole tragic story had everything the media dreams of: intense hostility between people who appreciate wildlife and the DFG.

There was a community rallying against a disrespectful tourist, a murdered mother bear and cub, and an orphaned cub. So it hit the news! People began calling the person who was trying to save Oliver’s life, asking what they could do to help and what could be done to make sure such a thing never happened again.

A few of these people arranged to meet, having not known each other previously, and the BEAR League was born. We now have more than a thousand members and are continuing our mission of helping bears and people live peacefully in this world together.

WHO WE ARE – OUR MISSION

The BEAR League is a community-based, almost entirely volunteer, non-profit organization in the Lake Tahoe Basin, Truckee and beyond. We are committed to keeping bears safe and wild in their ancestral habitat, by helping human residents and visitors learn to share their home.
We believe that our guiding principle, “People Living in Harmony with Bears” is achievable as the public comes to recognize the true gentle nature of the Black Bear.

In furtherance of this mission, the BEAR League engages in many activities.
The most noteworthy of these are:
BEAR•EDUCATION•AVERSION•RESPONSE

• Education Above all else, what we do is attempt to teach the public about the true gentle nature of the black bear. In fact, education permeates every function we perform. The black bear is quite docile, with a natural instinct to flee rather than fight. Never has a single person been killed by a black bear in California, Nevada or Oregon.

• Aversion With teams of trained aversion specialists all around Lake Tahoe, the BEAR League works with local Law Enforcement, Animal Control and Fish and Game Officers to keep bears out of places they do not belong and educates them as to where they do belong.

• Response The BEAR League hotline (530) 525-PAWS, which is staffed 365 days a year 24 hours a day, is available to help anyone who has a problem with a bear. We will respond whether the bear is there or has gone or we are happy to coach people over the phone. The BEAR League is always ready to help put people at ease and help them prevent future problems.

• Community Involvement The BEAR League is a grass roots organization. Our strength comes from our extensive volunteer network. Operating autonomously and built at the community level, the BEAR League is ready to come together when a situation arises where we need to reinforce our goals.

• Policy Development The BEAR League works to make changes at the state and local levels where we see policies that are deleterious to the lives of bears and the cause of people and bears living in harmony. We also strive to be proactive in initiating programs that are based on our own research and common sense.