Watch a Mama Bear and Cubs Swim Alongside South Lake Tahoe Beachgoers

Bears in the forest? Obviously. Bears in the mountains? Definitely. Bears in backyards? Ask us for our stories.

Bears at the beach? Yeah, that turns our heads too.

A family of ursine swimmers joined human beachgoers at South Lake Tahoe, California’s Pope Beach on Sunday. Beachgoer Jen Watkins recorded the following video of a Mama bear and her cubs playing on the water. The bears polished off food from a family’s cooler before before jumping in for a dip.

This isn’t the first time that we’ve seen bears bumming around Pope Beach: Thanks to abundant water and human food, it has become is somewhat of a hotspot for area black bears. Back in 2016, visitors captured this video of a bear and her cubs cooling off in the waves.

It’s no surprise that bears would feel the need to cool off right now: Like much of the West Coast, Lake Tahoe has been in the grip of a record-setting heat wave; on Tuesday, it hit 89F, which, while paling in comparison to the triple-digit heat wave wracking the Pacific Northwest, is a record for the date.

The local sheriff’s office reminded residents that the beach is in bear territory, not the other way around. Even if they don’t seem threatening, never feed or approach black bears and give them plenty of space.