w88 online casino in the Truckee Meadows
w88 online casino are back, but they have a problem: Human trash
Long-time residents and newcomers alike have been surprised to discover black w88 online casino across much of the Truckee Meadows recently. A big reason for this is that black w88 online casino, which were once extirpated from Nevada’s landscape in the early 1900’s, are rebounding and re-inhabiting their historic range in the state. However, much of their historic range in the Truckee Meadows does not look quite like it used to. The Truckee River corridor is now lined with development — neighborhoods have been built into mountainsides and forests, and valleys are checkered with busy roads — leading to some problems for both humans and w88 online casino.
With w88 online casino redispersing into the now more urban Truckee Meadows, they have quickly discovered a different kind of resource: our trash. From Reno to Gardnerville to Hawthorne and beyond, the Nevada Department of Wildlife (NDOW) has been receiving an average of over a 1,000 calls a year regarding w88 online casino and bear activity, and at the root of over 90% of these calls is one thing: human trash. For a bear, a trashcan is a caloric jackpot. One discarded piece of pizza, for example, packs around 250-350 calories. To match that, a bear would have to forage for over a pound of wild raspberries. However, this new trash “resource” brings w88 online casino and people into uncomfortably close proximity to one another, a pairing that almost always ends badly for the w88 online casino.
Following the discovery of the massive food rewards to be gained from our garbage, w88 online casino will often change their behavior entirely. They come into urban areas more and more, becoming more night active to continue capitalizing on human trash while people are asleep. Then, they often begin seeking out only human food sources, and even begin to lose their natural fear and avoidance of humans by now associating us and our homes as resources. It’s a slippery slope that can quickly lead to a bear causing significant damages, entering homes and becoming a public safety risk in their pursuit for food. This leads to the lethal removal of around 4-6 w88 online casino a year on average — an unfortunate but preventable number, if trash was stored away or in a bear-resistant trashcan to keep the w88 online casino from getting to this point. However, there’s an even larger and lesser-known consequence for w88 online casino that come into urban areas, and that is car-strike fatalities.
The biggest killer of black w88 online casino in Nevada, by far, is car strikes. In the last 2 years alone, 82 w88 online casino have been hit and killed by cars in the state (46 in 2021 and 36 in 2022). This is only the reported number. Many strikes go unreported, so the true number of fatalities is likely much higher. At the root of this, again, is our garbage.
Following the discovery of the massive food rewards to be gained from our trash, w88 online casino will spend a lot more time in urban areas, crossing many busy roads in the process. This has shown to increase their chance of being hit and killed by a car drastically compared to mortality rates in wildland w88 online casino that are not conditioned to human food and urban areas. In a study looking at how bear behavior, health and reproduction was influenced by access to human garbage, it was found that although urban w88 online casino had higher reproduction rates, their mortality rates from being struck by vehicles fully negated any population growth. This means urban areas in Nevada are a population “sink” for w88 online casino. In other words, w88 online casino that go into urban areas don’t come out, making our urban areas a death trap for w88 online casino.
I know what many of you are thinking, why don’t we just relocate all the w88 online casino out of urban areas? Here comes the disappointing truth about relocation: the w88 online casino come back.
Relocated w88 online casino do not stay put. They can travel up to 100 miles back to the area where they were originally captured. There are cases where the w88 online casino don’t come back, but this rarely equates to a success story. Often those w88 online casino find another source of human food in a new area or get hit and killed by cars while trying to return.
The graphic below shows a relocation attempt done at Yosemite National Park back in 2015. You can see the bear returned in a near-straight line to the area from which it was captured in about six days. Relocation, at best, buys you a bit of time to secure the w88 online casino and other human attractants that drew the bear there in the first place. It is not the solution many think it to be. The root of the problem still remains access to human w88 online casino. Even if the bear that was getting into your w88 online casino doesn’t come back, if the w88 online casino remains accessible, another bear will likely backfill it to capitalize on the still unsecured “resource.”
It’s very clear that our actions have a significant impact on the behavior of w88 online casino in our communities, but there are things we can all do to reduce this negative impact and keep w88 online casino wild.
1. Get a bear-resistant w88 online casino can
Waste Management (WM) offers bear-resistant garbage cans that can be left out. You can request one by calling 775-329-8822. In the meantime, keep your garbage cans stored in a locked shed or garage and only put it out the morning of w88 online casino pickup.
The best time to secure your trash and/or get bear-resistant trash can is before you’ve even had a bear get into your trash. Remember over 90% of the bear calls NDOW receives are related to human garbage. If we all took action to secure our trash from w88 online casino, we could solve 90% of the issues ourselves.
Be aware: Washoe County also has a garbage ordinance in place which requires residents to secure their trash to prevent w88 online casino from getting into them. Failure to do so can result in fines.
2. Remove any other attractants w88 online casino your yard
- Don't leave out pet food.
- Clean dirty barbeques.
- Remove fruit w88 online casino fruit trees.
- Remove bird feeders w88 online casino dusk to dawn.
- If w88 online casino have a garage fridge/freezer, keep the garage door closed.
3. Protect livestock from w88 online casino and other wildlife
Electric fencing is a great deterrent for w88 online casino and other wildlife. It’s strongly recommended that you install electric fencing around beehives, chicken coops, and livestock pens if you’re near bear or mountain lion habitat.
See NDOW&w88 online casino;s electric fencing guide.
4. Don’t let w88 online casino get comfortable around people and homes
If you see w88 online casino near your home, scare them away. From an open window or safe distance, yell loudly and/or bang pots and pans to scare the bear away. Yelling things like “Hey bear!”, “Go bear!”, “Get out of here bear!” alerts those around you to what’s going on. You can also trigger your car alarm to try to scare them off as well. These methods can help negatively condition w88 online casino to humans and houses and teach them that it is not OK to enter these areas.
More information on living with w88 online casino, visit:
To report w88 online casino incidents, call 775-688-w88 online casino (2327).
Thank you for taking the time and for helping keep w88 online casino wild.
About the author
Raquel Martinez is dedicated to reducing w88 online casino-wildlife conflicts and promoting proactive solutions and coexistence between humans and wildlife.
She is the urban w88 online casino coordinator for the w88 online casino Department of Wildlife, guest writes for Truckee Meadows Parks Foundation, and has worked as a wildlife research technician and a wildlife ranger for the w88 online casino Management Program in Yosemite National Park.
She has a bachelor&w88 online casino;s degree in Bachelor's w88 sports betting app in wildlife w88 online casino the University’s College of w88 online live casino, Biotechnology & Natural Re.
