Bears destroyed after breaking into homes

GARDNERVILLE -- A mother bear and two cubs have been destroyed after breaking into homes in a subdivision south of Gardnerville, wildlife officials said.

Carl Lackey, a biologist with the Nevada Department of Wildlife, said residents in the Pine View Estates subdivision had been feeding the bears, which soon graduated to ripping off doors and breaking into garages in search of food.

The wildlife agency so far this year has trapped 80 bears in an area stretching from Reno to south Douglas County and west to Lake Tahoe. Of those, eight were euthanized.