Drought Nudges Nevada Wildlife Toward Urban Areas

Three years of drought in Nevada is drying up fisheries in the valleys and pushing some animals to urban areas looking for food and water. David Catalano is a biologist with the Nevada Department of Wildlife. He says in the Reno-Sparks area, people are calling about "nuisance wildlife."

State wildlife officials say the third consecutive year of drought could result in the loss of some fisheries altogether by the end of the summer. David Catalano is a biologist with the Nevada Department of Wildlife.

"What's happening is a lot of the reservoirs are down to almost minimum pools, when you start getting the increased heat, there's less oxygen in the water, and you can end up having a fish kill," says Catalano.

Catalano says sparse snow and rain means bears around Lake Tahoe may be more active around homes as they search for food. He also says in the Reno-Sparks area, rodents and snakes, followed by their predators, are showing up looking for food and water too.

"You're going to draw the hawks, you're going to draw the coyotes, you're going to draw snakes," says Catalano. "We've had a lot of phone calls on snakes hanging out on people's decks."