Tahoe skiers were recently treated to a shocking surprise when a black bear family charged across the slopes, causing skiers to stop in their tracks.

As this video shows, this black bear family had everyone on edge, totally slack-jawed as they watched these bears make a beeline across the snow.

In this video from Instagram user abc7la, three bears were filmed charging through the middle of a ski slope, causing several skiers to halt as they made their way down the hill.

This incredible footage was captured by someone filming from a chairlift at Lake Tahoe’s Northstar California Resort.

Plenty of voices can be heard in the background of this video as someone yells, “Stop! Bears! Get out of there,” and “move” as the three bears made their way across the slope.

Additional voices can be heard in the background saying things like, “No way,” and “Why would you go?” Apparently, the sight of charging bears was not enough to stop every skier in their tracks.

Social media had a lot to say about this one, particularly regarding what the man yelling, “Stop! Bears! Get out of there,” was trying to communicate.

Instagram user janeteballard opined, “I thought the yelling was to the people to get out of the bear’s way! The bears looked scared!”

Related: Black Bear Cubs’ Precious Playground Antics Give off Total Human Kid Vibes

While Instagram user nyhigirl wrote, “You need to respect Mother Nature when you see a bear. I went to Alaska, and that’s a place. You don’t wanna mess with Mother Nature at all, definitely have major respect for all animals and weather out there.”

Meanwhile, several Instagram users wondered why these bears were not hibernating since it is the middle of winter.

Increased Wildlife Sightings

According to the Wyoming news site Cowboy State Daily, California, Wyoming, and Canada are experiencing mild winter weather this year, which has sparked some unusual wildlife sightings.

It’s unusual for a black bear family to be seen out and about in this region during this time of year. The report points to “unseasonably warm” weather for much of this winter, which has some black bears out searching for the many “human-provided food sources” in the Lake Tahoe area.

Additionally, this report mentions that bears don’t go into a complete “stupor” when they hibernate; they just go to sleep. So, it is likely that warmer-than-usual weather has them out searching for food.

Whatever the case may be, thankfully, all the black bears and humans in this video were able to navigate this encounter safely.

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This story was originally published by PetHelpful on Feb 23, 2026, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here.