10 Shocking Moments of Bears Caught-on-Camera in Tahoe
Bear sightings in the communities surrounding Lake Tahoe have grown at an astonishing rate in the past few years. Flocking to the area during the summer months in search of human food provided by tourists, bears have become accustomed to the Tahoe life and the benefits of living in the beautiful area. With videos showing the shocking encounters with these wild animals, we can get a glimpse into their lifestyle and how they’ve adapted to living amongst humans.
Before we get into the videos, be sure to educate yourself on the importance of Keeping Tahoe Bears Wild. Now, here are 10 shocking moments of bears caught on camera in the Tahoe area.
10. Bear Cub Eats a Healthy Snack at Northstar Cabin
Placer County Sheriffs made their way to a house at Northstar at Tahoe to look into a possible break in at one of the homes. When they got there, they found a fuzzy little animal having himself a healthy snack.
The sheriff’s office posted the below video, showing their encounter with a juvenile bear who grabbed a snack in someone’s home:
9. Bears Take Over PGA Golf Tournament
The PGA Tour made a stop in in Tahoe for professional golfers to compete in the Barracuda Championship, which was held in Truckee for the first time. While the Old Greenwood Golf Course was the perfect spot to host the spectator-free tournament, organizers didn’t take Tahoe’s growing bear population into account while scheduling the event.
Here are two incredible videos captured by golfers during the event:
Meanwhile at the @CudaChamp … ðŸ»ðŸ˜¬ pic.twitter.com/3fU4gJrRbA
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 31, 2020
Best seat in the house at the @CudaChamp. 🻠pic.twitter.com/xEEaDEQlIv
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 2, 2020
8. Bear Cub Performs Ninja-Style Escape
A family of bears broke into a Tahoe home recently and had to make a great escape after volunteers with the Bear League arrived to scare them off. Bears breaking into Tahoe homes isn’t a rare occurrence, but watching a bear cub perform a ninja-style escape is!
When the people from the Bear League arrived in the home, the video starts rolling and a man can be heard yelling ““”you better get out of here!” That’s when the bear cub performed its great, and entertaining, escape.
See the video for yourself:
7. Bear Cub on the Slopes of Northstar
A video was posted to YouTube of a bear cub approaching a snowboarder at Northstar in Tahoe. The video went viral, forcing people to comment on how this cute interaction could be deadly for the cub.
This occurrence was quite rare. The fact that a cub would approach a human is especially alarming because it probably indicates the cub’s mother is dead. Now, the cub has no one to raise it and may have to be euthanized:
6. 400-Pound Bear Rescued from Dumpster
Mr. T-Shirt has become a bit of a celebrity in the Tahoe town of King’s Beach. Known for the white patch on his chest (hence, Mr. T-Shirt), he is VERY big and has constant run-ins with local law enforcement.
Early Monday morning, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office had another run-in with the troublesome bear, finding the massive black bear stuck in a dumpster. The sheriff’s office posted a video to social media showing them rescuing him from the dumpster:
5. Cub Uses Mama Bear as a Boat
Onlookers were worried when they spotted a small bear cub in the water near a dock in Lake Tahoe. Have no fear, mama bear to the rescue!
@activenorcal Mama bear helping her cub swim in Lake Tahoe (Instagram/southlaketahoefire)
♬ Baby Shark (Tik Tok Reggaeton Remix) – Bing Bong
4. Bear Knows How to Open Car Doors
Tyler Silvestri was driving through the Heavenly Ski Resort parking lot on Monday when he saw a big bear wandering around, so he decided to film it and was a witness to how bears break into unlocked cars in Tahoe.
The bear is casually walking around trying all the door handles to find one unlocked. Eventually, he finds an unlocked truck where he casually opens the driver’s side door, grabs something (probably an food item) and runs off. The video is shocking:
3. Bear Casually Opens Door to Tahoe CHP Facility
Smarter than your average bear?
Another bear video was shared by Tahoe law enforcement and this one is as interesting as it is frightening. The CHP – Donner Pass unit posted a video on social media showing a bear casually standing up, opening their front door and strolling into their Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility. Check it out:
2. Angela? ANGELA!
She began to film as a big black bear approached her Tahoe cabin. It seemed like a once in a lifetime opportunity to film a Tahoe bear and it ended with the woman coming face-to-face with the beast as it attempted to crawl through her window.
Absolutely. Terrifying. See for yourself:
1. Kings Beach Gas Station Confrontation
A Kings Beach gas station released three videos showing bears entering the store and devouring its food. In one, a bear is standing in the entranceway, only for a patron to slap it in the butt to get it to keep moving.
But the most shocking clip has to be when a store worker confronts the bear at the doorway, only for the bear to snip at him before devouring a whole pile of candy. Watch here: