SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – The South Lake Tahoe Police Department and the BEAR League responded to reports of a bear cub that had been hit and killed by a vehicle before noon on Monday, Aug. 17, in the Tahoe Keys area.

The police department responded to ensure there were no public safety issues since the mother bear was still in the area. BEAR League arrived and ran the mother bear up a tree, where she remained, while the BEAR League removed the cub’s body and neutralized its scent so the mother bear wouldn’t linger.

The BEAR League says this was the bear’s only cub, born this winter.

 “It was upsetting to the residents who watched it,” Ann Bryant with the BEAR League said.

The BEAR League also responded to a cub that was hit and killed on Thursday, making this the second cub killed in under a week.

Bryant says this is the time of year when more of these incidents occur. The BEAR League expects them to continue, especially as September arrives and into October, explaining that the bears become much more active foraging in preparation for the winter.

“When you get on into October and November, they’re foraging for 20 hours a day instead of six or seven,” she says, “so they’re crossing roadways.”

Bryant encourages drivers to remain vigilant while driving.

“Keep in mind that we live in bear country,” she says. “We live in wildlife habitat and be watching all the time.”