Surge in Sierra bears reported; 10 caught in 1 day

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RENO, Nev. (AP) — You'd be hungry too if you couldn't find any food and were used to eating the equivalent of more than 80 cheeseburgers a day.

An already busy bear season has exploded in the Sierra Nevada with 10 hungry bruins captured in a single day this week near Reno and Lake Tahoe as an ongoing drought continues to make food scarce in the mountains.

Since July 1, Nevada Department of Wildlife officials have caught 42 black bears and released all but two back into the wild. They said two repeat offenders had to be killed — one so bold it was rummaging through picnic baskets in July on a busy Tahoe beach.

Cars have killed an additional 10 bears as the animals move into more populated areas from the parched foothills on the Sierra's eastern front, where streams are down to a trickle and the usual supply of berries and insects is lacking.

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