Employees at the Shops at Heavenly Village in Lake Tahoe had just finished preparing the mall's skating rink when an unusual local arrived for a late-night spin on the ice.
A black bear locals called “Charlie” made his debut as the first guest at the rink this year, gliding across the ice shortly after 10 p.m. Thursday, according to staff.
The bear crawled under the rope barriers to cross the ice, ignoring the “No skating without skates” sign posted at the entrance. It's debatable whether claws count.
“The ice had probably just frozen over when one of our employees, Danny, saw Charlie skating and took that photo,” said Dreu Murin, a spokesperson for the Shops at Heavenly Village. “Opening day today and he definitely took advantage of the fresh ice… He got the first clues on our ice rink.”
Heavenly people aware about the encounter on Facebook, garnering thousands of likes for the furry skater. “Guess winter sports season is officially open! #OnlyInTahoe #BearOnIce,” the post read.
Black bears are frequently seen in Heavenly Village, which is located at the base of Lake Tahoe's popular Heavenly Mountain Resort destination, in the late fall and early winter, Murin said. The tourist area has not reported any attacks in recent years. But sometimes humans and bears collide, literally.
Last year, a snowboarder descending the slopes of Heavenly Mountain crashed into a black bear cub running through the snow, a situation that was caught on camera by a nearby snowboarder. Fortunately, neither the man nor the bear were injured.
After his turn on the ice Thursday night, Charlie left of his own volition. But apparently he couldn't help but return, probably this time in search of a snack.
“Charlie came back to town last night but decided not to ice skate,” Murin said.
“Without a doubt, the bear is attracted to the ice rink in search of food, and to the smells associated with food and garbage,” said Steve Searles, a California wildlife author and bear expert known as “The Bear Whisperer.” “Since winter has not yet arrived, bear sightings will be common until the snow falls.”
The Nevada Department of Wildlife warned Lake Tahoe residents to hide their trash during the fall and winter as bears will break into homes and businesses in search of food. With such an abundant supply of snacks year-round, there is a risk that bears will skip hibernation entirely if they become dependent on human food sources, the department said.
The phenomenon became such that this year the California Department of Wildlife decided to introduce a program of trapping, tagging and “hazing” bears in Lake Tahoe, which involved the use of noisemakers, paintballs and bag bullets to discourage bears from going to populated areas.
Charlie's skating isn't his first comedic encounter with the local bears at the mall. Several years ago, a smaller black bear broke into a Nestle cookie store to devour ice cream, Murin said.
“We're thinking about making T-shirts with the name 'Charlie the Skating Bear,'” Murin said. “He could just be our mascot.”
