Officials Tried to Haze a Bear That Nearly Burned a House Down. Instead, They Got Mobbed by Activists

South Lake Tahoe is home to a booming population of black bear activists — so many, in fact, that they’re becoming a public safety concern. California wildlife officials say that last week, after responding to a bear break-in and protecting the home, they were confronted and accosted by a “large and agitated” group of these activists. Tensions were running so high that the local police had to escort one of the wildlife officials to safety, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

CDFW says that regardless of the interference with their operations, they were able to keep the house from burning down.

Thursday’s confrontation began with a call about a bear breaking into a house. CDFW says this “is a near-daily occurrence in the Lake Tahoe Basin,” where black bears have grown so accustomed to human food that they are now virtually dependent on it. State wildlife officials were responding to the call when they saw a different home that had clearly been broken into by bears. There was a window pushed in and trash scattered around.

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When officials knocked on the door of the unoccupied home, they smelled gas inside and saw items melting on the stovetop — evidence that a bear had inadvertently turned on the gas stove while rummaging through the kitchen. They called 911, and when first responders arrived, an adult female bear and its cub fled from inside the home and into the nearby woods, where they climbed up a tree.

The adult female was already well-known to CDFW and the local community. It wore a yellow ear tag with the number 753, which meant it had been trapped and relocated by the state before. The agency says the female has a long history of residential break-ins dating back to 2022. It’s been linked to at least 12 home invasions in the last five weeks alone.

In order to keep tabs on the two bears, and to haze them away from the home if necessary, a CDFW employee stood at the base of the tree with a paintball gun. This caught the attention of local bear activists, who know the bear as “Hope,” and who sounded the alarm in a social media post. The post claimed (incorrectly) that CDFW had issued a “shoot-to-kill” order for the bear and called on anyone in the area to “go act as a respectful witness.”

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“CDFW had no intentions of shooting or tranquilizing either bear on Thursday morning,” the agency clarified in a press release later that day. But the crowd had already been summoned. Video footage from Thursday shows a loud group of protesters at the scene, with one person shouting “We don’t want you here!” and “Shame!” at wildlife officers through a megaphone.  

In a follow-up post over the weekend, the group of activists said they’ve continued to keep a close eye on “Hope” and its cub, which they’ve nicknamed “Bounce.” On Saturday morning, they say, the two bears were seen cruising through the neighborhood eating unsecured trash.

“She [Hope] seems very grateful to have us nearby keeping the ‘monsters’ away,’” the post read.