Halloween offers new trick: bears

MINDEN -- Douglas County officials are warning trick-or-treaters to be wary if they see another Halloween goodie-hunter that looks like a bear.

It could be the real thing.

Bear sightings have more than quadrupled because drought has sent the animals teeming out of the woods and into populated areas in search of water and food.

Some 80 have been trapped in an area stretching from Reno to south Douglas County and west to Lake Tahoe. Eight of those have been euthanized, according to the state Department of Wildlife.

Marcy De Rose, who saw a bear at a Douglas County park last week, said she is concerned that her neighborhood near the high school, popular with trick-or-treaters, might be a dangerous lure to the brazen bears.

"I usually decorate, but I'm not going to this year," she said. "I'm not going to encourage kids to come here because the smell of candy will attract the bears."

Douglas County sheriff's Sgt. Tom Mezzetta agreed that bears might be attracted by the scent of a child's trick-or-treat bag. He offered advice.

"If confronted by a bear, stay with others in a group. Do not try to run away," he said. "You can't outrun a bear, and it may provoke a pursuit. Slowly back away, heading for shelter.

"Talk calmly amongst yourselves so that the bear identifies you as human."

Mezzetta said it might be necessary to drop the trick-or-treat bag during a retreat

"But do not throw it at the bear as it may be mistaken as an act of aggression," he said. "Give the bear a wide berth as you seek shelter."