LAKE TAHOE, July 11 — The bear charged fast, a dark blur of muscle and fur closing the distance in seconds. Cortlandt Koerwitz had nowhere to go but straight into the encounter, can of bear spray raised. The video, shared by ABC7 Eyewitness News on July 10, shows the moment the spray plume hits the animal mid-charge — and the bear stops, turns, and bolts.
The footage has garnered widespread attention on social media, with millions of views. It is the kind of real-world demonstration that safety experts spend years trying to get across in pamphlets and ranger talks.
Here, in raw, shaky-camera footage from near Lake Tahoe, the lesson plays out in seconds: bear spray works. The Sierra Nevada mountain range, which cradles Lake Tahoe, hosts a significant black bear population. California’s black bear population was estimated at 30,000 to 40,000 animals as of 2023.
That puts an awful lot of bears in an awful lot of backyards, trailheads, and campgrounds — especially now, in the thick of the summer travel season.
Summer crowds, summer bears
The timing of Koerwitz’s encounter is no accident. July is peak season across the Sierra Nevada. Families pack coolers, lace up hiking boots, and head for the high country.
Bears, meanwhile, are following their noses to the same places — drawn by the smell of granola bars, camp stoves, and improperly sealed trash bins. The National Park Service and the Sierra Nevada Conservancy have long pushed bear spray as a critical tool for anyone recreating in bear habitat.
The Koerwitz video gives those agencies a vivid, shareable proof point. It is one thing to read a safety bulletin. It is another to watch a charging bear veer away in real time.
Wildlife experts quoted in the wake of the video’s spread note a key reality: bear attacks remain rare. But when an encounter does escalate, it can happen fast.
The difference between a close call and a mauling often comes down to seconds — and preparation.
Education campaigns find new urgency
Bear safety campaigns such as ‘BearWise’ and ‘Keep Tahoe Bears Wild’ have spent years drilling two core messages into visitors: store food properly, and carry bear spray. The Koerwitz video is now being shared by these groups as a living example of why that second point matters. The footage also highlights a quieter reality of living alongside bears in the Sierra.
The animals are not predators in the classic sense — black bears are foragers, driven by calorie needs. But a surprised bear, or one that has become food-conditioned around humans, can shift from skittish to aggressive in a heartbeat.
The spray gives hikers and campers a non-lethal tool to break that moment. By nightfall on July 10, the video had already become a staple of local news and social media feeds across the Tahoe region. Comments sections filled with people trading their own bear stories, some funny, some terrifying.
The consensus: better to carry the can and never need it than to need it and not have it.
What to watch next
The conversation is not fading with the news cycle. With the summer travel season still unfolding, the Sierra Nevada Conservancy and local ranger districts are expected to double down on bear spray education in the weeks ahead. The Koerwitz video has given them a powerful visual aid — and a reminder that in bear country, the best defense is the one you carry with you.
