Cellphone Video Shows Family's Close Encounter With Lake Tahoe Bear

LAKE TAHOE (CSB13) — Nail-biting cell phone video shows a Lake Tahoe bear, creeping slowly towards two little girls, only a glass door standing between.

The incredible moment is captured on by the girls' father. It shows his two little girls inside the family's home as the bear approached them from an outdoor deck.

"He's right there," the father says.

The young black bear gets closer and closer.

"Alright guys, don't get him angry, though," the father says on cellphone.

This year, despite the record snowfall, the Bear League reports more bears than ever before in the Tahoe Basin did not hibernate at all. Instead, they've been looking for food, where people live.

"We've been keeping records for over 20 years and this was way over the top in comparison to any other year," Bear League executive director Ann Bryant said.

Bryant warns the cellphone video should serve as an example of what not to do when a bear comes near a home. Don't look so inviting.

"Now that bear feels he can go up to anybody's house, go up and sniff around the porch possibly score a meal," Bryant said.

Warning signs about keeping bears away from food waste are posted on most dumpsters in the area.