Bear Takes to the Ski Slopes in Lake Tahoe

January 14,2014

 

 

 

 

 

A bear crosses in front of skiers at the Far West Masters ski race Friday Jan. 10, 2014 on Heavenly Mountain in South Lake Tahoe, Calif. Skiers took a brief pause to let the bear cross the slope without incident and disappear into the woods on the other side. (AP Photo/Tahoe Daily Tribune, Tom Lotshaw)

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — An unusual sight for winter turned some skiers' heads on the slopes at Lake Tahoe: a black bear.
Skiers participating in a race let the bruin amble across the slopes and disappear into woods without incident at Heavenly Mountain Resort on Friday.
Nevada Department of Wildlife spokesman Chris Healy says an unusually dry, mild winter in the Sierra has made some bears either not hibernate or partially hibernate.
He tells the Tahoe Daily Tribune that other bears out this time of year are what the department calls "urban interface" bears that don't hibernate if they have easy access to human food.
Cheryl Millham of Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care agrees bears are currently not in a real deep sleep because of the weather.
(MORE: Lake Tahoe Forecast | More Ski Content)
The snowpack around the Tahoe Basin is roughly 25 percent of normal for this time of year.
MORE: The Bears of Alaska's Katmai Peninsula

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Getty Images

Two bear cubs stand upright while watching their mother fish for salmon in Katmai National Park. (Paul Souders/Getty Images)