Black Bears Play on Front Deck

Occurred on February 17, 2023 / South Lake Tahoe, California, USA

Info from Licensor: "There is a common misconception that all black bears hibernate in the winter. In the Lake Tahoe region, many bears are active year-round. There are food sources available throughout the year that allow some bears to avoid denning up during the winter months. And when bears are well-fed, they like to play. These two bears decided to have a play bout on my front deck. I have seen these bears throughout the last year, and they regularly play like this. Although they do no real damage to each other in these play bouts, they are learning valuable skills that will help them if they do get into a real fight with another bear."