Mama bear killed after Tahoe attack, orphaning cubs, California officials say

A bear with a history of break-ins and human conflicts in South Lake Tahoe has been euthanized following an attack on a camper, California wildlife officials said.

The bear’s two 5-month-old cubs, now orphans, have been taken to a wildlife center for rehabilitation, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife said in a June 24 blog post.

Their mother was euthanized Monday, June 23, by a California State Parks ranger, officials said. DNA testing confirmed it was the same bear in an attack a day earlier.

The bear entered a trailer at Eagle Point Campground within Emerald Bay State Park at 4:30 a.m. Sunday, June 22, officials said.

The woman inside banged pots and pans and screamed at the bear to try to frighten it away, officials said.

“Undeterred, the bear forced its way into the trailer and swiped at the camper, leaving her with cuts and bruises on her arms and hand,” the agency said in the release. The woman was later taken to a hospital.

Later that morning, the same bear tore open the door to a camper van with teenagers sleeping inside and harassed others at the campground, officials said.

Wildlife officers had already been trying to trap the bear since June 17 following multiple break-ins into homes and vehicles along with conflicts at the campground, officials said.

On June 10, the bear entered a vehicle at the campground with a child strapped into a child seat inside, officials said.

Multiple agencies also tried to drive the bear away from areas frequented by people, officials said.

“As wildlife professionals who devote our careers to the health and well-being of California’s fish and wildlife species, euthanasia is a measure of last resort,” Morgan Kilgour, regional manager for the agency, said in the release.

Officials hope the bear’s two cubs “can be rehabilitated and returned to the wild,” the agency said.

“Bear cubs learn everything from their mothers – good and bad behavior alike,” Kilgour said in the release. “A mother bear that constantly searches human-occupied areas for unnatural food sources, breaks into homes and vehicles teaches this behavior to her cubs and perpetuates another generation of human-bear conflict.”

This story was originally published June 25, 2025 at 12:11 PM with the headline "Mama bear killed after Tahoe attack, orphaning cubs, California officials say."