Bear known for ransacking California stores killed by family on campout, officials say
A hungry black bear known for rummaging through California stores was killed by a family at a campsite, wildlife officials said.
Kings Beach Bear — also known as the Safeway Bear — was caught snacking on video multiple times at stores in Kings Beach near Lake Tahoe, including a Safeway and a Chevron.
The roughly 15-year-old bear had to be relocated after its eating habits became a safety concern to the public, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a news release on Thursday.
Wildlife officials trapped and put a GPS collar on the 500-pound bear in September 2020, before relocating it to El Dorado County.
But the collar was recovered in April and the wildlife agency said the bear lost its winter weight and lost the collar, or the animal had died.
But the bear was alive.
The animal approached a family’s campsite multiple times in early August near Hermit Valley in Alpine County, the news release said.
After many attempts to haze the bear away, the family shot it. Their food and trash had been “properly stored and secured” at the time of the shooting.
Distraught, the family reported the killing to wildlife officials, the news release states.
Wildlife officials said the bear “was a shell of its former self, completely emaciated, its teeth rotten.”
And the shooting was justified by officials.
“Ultimately, the actions of the shooter was the most humane outcome for this bear,” a California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist said.
Feeding bears is deadly for the animals.
“A fed bear is a dead bear,” the agency wrote in a document about living near black bears.
Once a bear learns they can obtain food from people, they can become aggressive and bold, leading wildlife officials to take fatal steps to protect residents and visitors, according to the department.
This story was originally published October 15, 2021 at 4:56 PM with the headline "Bear known for ransacking California stores killed by family on campout, officials say."
