A mother bear tried to rouse her dead cub and drag her body away from a road near Lake Tahoe after the young animal was struck by a vehicle, according to a local wildlife charity.
Polaris, a seven-month-old female black bear, was killed on Highway 89, also known as West Lake Boulevard, on August 19. Members of the BEAR League said her mother, Ursula, and her surviving brother, Arcturus, were found attempting to lift her from the road.
When it became clear that Polaris had died, Ursula began pulling her cub towards a nearby neighbourhood, the organisation said. Volunteers intervened and moved the mother bear away before taking Polaris into the forest.
“It was heartbreaking for all of us — bears and BEAR League people,” the charity said in a statement shared on social media.
Six bear cubs killed on Tahoe roads
Polaris was the third cub born this season to die on roads around Lake Tahoe. The BEAR League said six bear cubs had been killed in vehicle collisions within two weeks.
Local reports said one cub was struck on Highway 89, two were killed on Highway 267 and three died in neighbourhoods around South Lake Tahoe.
The charity said none of the drivers involved in the deaths stopped at the scene.
The incidents have prompted a campaign urging motorists to slow down and watch the verges carefully. Signs reading “Slow down. A bear cub died here” have been erected near roads, while a large stuffed bear has been attached to a tree beside one apparent memorial site.
Ann Bryant, executive director of the BEAR League, said the animals were particularly vulnerable at this time of year because young bears were beginning to move further away from their mothers.
“This is the time of the year when cubs are allowed by their mothers to be a bit more independent and so they sometimes lag behind after she crosses a road,” she said.
Bears are also entering hyperphagia, a period when they spend much of their time searching for food and building up fat reserves before winter. The heightened activity is expected to continue through November, increasing the likelihood of animals crossing roads.
Bryant has called for more prominent, mobile warning signs, arguing that drivers can become accustomed to standard roadside notices. The BEAR League is asking people travelling through bear country to reduce their speed, scan the edges of the road and be prepared to stop.
Polaris had been watched since birth
Polaris and Arcturus had become familiar to residents after the BEAR League monitored the family through cameras installed near a den beneath a Lake Tahoe cabin.
Earlier this year, footage showed the twins playing under the building and being taught by Ursula how to climb trees before the family left the den in spring.
The charity described Polaris as curious and bold, while her brother tended to remain close to their mother. It later shared a video of the cubs interacting with Ursula, before announcing Polaris’s death in a post titled “In Memory of Polaris, daughter of Ursula”.
The BEAR League said the family’s story was a reminder of the dangers faced by wildlife living close to human settlements and roads.
“Once again we ask drivers to slow down and be aware of wildlife crossing the roadways,” the organisation said.
