Bear cubs Eloise and Lucinda taken to new home in the wild; Six cubs remain at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Two of the bears who spent the winter at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care (LTWC) center have left and heading to their new home. There are six cubs left, all waiting for their release dates which are provided by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW).

All eight cubs have undergone amazing transformations since first arriving, some almost one year ago. They all arrived under different circumstances - burns, injuries, or they were separated from their mothers at a very young age.

On Tuesday, CDFW arrived in South Lake Tahoe to take Eloise and Lucinda to their new home. They only take two at a time due to their trailer only fitting two. They will be back in town to move the remaining six, most likely by the end of the month.

Eloise and Lucinda were sedated, weighed, markings documented, measured, had blood samples taken, paws and claws were checked, received ID tags and GPS collars, and loaded into the trailer. Since they are both from the Lake Tahoe Basin they were relocated within 70 miles of where found, but not in the Basin.

Lucinda and her twin Wildwood were the cubs of popular local bear Hazel. Last year, Hazel was shot by a BB gun with the steel balls lodged in her spin. The two cubs were very small and grabbed immediately and put into LTWC. The 350-pound Hazel was then euthanized. Many had thought she was hit by a car but an autopsy revealed differently.

They wanted to release Jamison with Eloise, but he ran up a tree and escaped release, for now. He will be released with Wildwood soon.

Since these four played together for months, they will have a friend upon release though bear don't tend to hang out with other bears once in the wild. Still, LTWC likes to team up the bears with ones they get along with just for that comfort at initial release.

CDFW does not disclose the location of release for safety of the bears. They will track the two devices placed on the necks. One will break off in a couple of weeks, the other remaining attached. The new collars used this week can be released remotely so CDFW can retrieve later and get more information off the device. If those are not available, the collars break off with growth and being outdoors, giving authorities some information. All information obtained is used in the study of bears and travel habits.

All eight of the cubs are 15-16 months old. Bears only give birth in January and February. They didn't hibernate this year and were busy bears all winter.

CDFW relocates the bears in their home areas so the remaining will go to Plumas, Sequoia, and Shasta, as well as just outside of Lake Tahoe.

"We’ve worked tirelessly over the past year to help these bear cubs grow into strong, healthy, independent animals ready to live their lives in the wild," said the nonprofit tasked with the cubs' care.

The remaining six cubs will continue to practice “wild training,” practicing the skills like foraging that will help them thrive in the wild. They will be released in the next few weeks.

Last year most female bears had two cubs. Since the environment determines how many cubs are born it isn't known yet how many will be seen in the Lake Tahoe area (if there is no food supply they will have only one or no cubs). As they start making their way out of the dens people will need to be extra cautious as they drive. In 2020 15 bears (adults and cubs) were hit by cars and died on the South Shore.

For more information on LTWC or to help them care for the bears, visit https://ltwc.org/.