White Bear Lake Schools Calendar

Black bear removed from North Lake Tahoe home after trying to hibernate in crawl space

A black bear was removed from under a North Lake Tahoe home Sunday, the Bear League said in a social media post, a nonprofit committed to saving bears.

The Bear League said that volunteers from the organization were called to a home on the north shore after a homeowner noticed the bear living in the crawl space.

The homeowner had initially called a handyman to scare the bear away and seal the hole, however, the handyman installed bear wires over the opening to the crawl space, unaware the bear was still inside.

“The neighbor later saw the bear, who had been hiding back in a corner, trying desperately to chew and tear through the small vent to get out and she called us,” the Bear League said.

In a video posted to Facebook, volunteers are shown coaxing the large bear out from under the home by using a non-lethal, non-projectile device that emits a loud noise to scare the bear, the Bear League said. The device “stings” the bear’s hearing but doesn’t cause any harm to the animal or the structure, a representative said.

After multiple attempts, the bear finally runs through the crawl space door and into the snow.

“BEAR League First Responders have been safely evicting bears for over 25 years . . . no bears harmed, no volunteers harmed, no weapons, no deaths of anyone or anything,” the Bear League said. “We are here to help.”

The Bear League said it is getting dozens of calls a week from homeowners who are finding bears in and around their properties during hibernation season.

“The best way to avoid this entirely is to secure your crawl space openings before the bears go inside,” the nonprofit added.