Bear raids Carson neighborhood

State wildlife officials are investigating a report that a bear broke into a garage on Paradise View Drive in west Carson City last weekend.

The bear broke two windows and a door, according to Capital City Humane Society officer Dave Patterson.

"The people had been feeding wild cats but stopped," Patterson said. "The bear must have remembered the food being there."

Patterson pointed out that if someone had opened the wrong door when the bear was inside the house, there could have been serious injury.

A bear had earlier been spotted in a garage where the people had left the doors open.

"People need to remember to keep doors closed, cover garbage and bring the pets in at night," he said. "Just use common sense."

Bears are attracted by pet food left out and will kill a dog.

Chris Healy, public information officer for the Nevada Division of Wildlife, said it is bear season and people have to be careful.

"They're coming out and the odds are that it is probably a male," Healy said. "The males come out of their dens before the females."

Healy said wildlife officers are waiting until they can positively identify the intruder as a bear before deciding what they are going to do.

"The house is located way up in the canyon and it is not unusual to have a bear in that area," he said. "My people went up there and are looking, but they did not say they are setting up a trap."

According to Healy, current state policy gives wildlife officials some options in dealing with a bear.

"Our current policy allows us to give the bear the treatment, where we hit it in the rear end with rubber bullets and spray it with pepper spray to drive it off."

However, Healy said, a bear that breaks into an occupied home can be killed.

"Let's say we find a bear that breaks into a house with people in it, we can on the first time take it out if it proves to be dangerous," he said.

However, he said no one at the agency relishes the idea of killing a bear.

"We don't want to do that," he said. "We're on the bear's side."

Healy pointed out that the bears are not at fault in most cases but are attracted by food left out by people.

"If you are going to live in the forest, then you have a responsibility to the creatures that live there to be careful," he said. "We need to educate the humans so they know they are responsible."