Tahoe Shocked to Discover Bears Living in Nature

In a shocking turn of events, Tahoe residents have discovered that bears live in the woods.

Attacks have spiked this year, with one restaurant enduring four separate bear break-ins so far this season. The Department of Fish and Game has issued 62 permits to kill the animals, more than double last year's amount. About two dozen bears have already been killed.

Thousands of complaints have been lodged so far about "nuisance" animals who have the gall to continue eking out an existence in the middle of prime resort country. The bears seem to be growing bolder, approaching residents more frequently and on occasion injuring humans. And Tahoe's not alone: Yosemite is seeing the same problem.

Experts suspect that the bears' population growth is to blame. As the state limited hunting and development, the once-threatened species was able to rebound -- with a vengeance. There are currently ten times as many bears in the state as there were 25 years ago, according to Fish and Game.

And bears aren't the only ones butting up against human encroachment. A mountain lion recently deposited a dead deer on the grounds of Ralston Middle School in Belmont. Mountain lion sightings have spiked this year as well.

At this rate, the next thing you know, bees will start having stingers, skunks will start smelling bad and cats will start shredding the legs of couches.