The moment man fights off bear with spray at his Lake Tahoe cabin
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- A home security camera captured Cortlandt Koerwitz using bear spray on a bear.
- Koerwitz said the encounter left him scared and confused because bears rarely rush people.
- National Park Service offers advice on selecting, carrying and using bear spray.
A video from the Fourth of July weekend in Lake Tahoe shows a man encounter an aggressive bear at his cabin.
Captured on a home security camera and initially provided to Storyful, the footage shows the man, identified as Cortlandt Koerwitz, using bear spray to deter the approaching animal. He was reportedly outside his garage preparing for a day on his boat.
The video shows the bear rushing Koerwitz, who grabs a can of bear spray and shoots it at the bear.
Koerwitz told Storyful that the encounter left him “scared and confused” because bears in Lake Tahoe “don’t normally aggressively rush people,” Fox 26, a Houston television station, reported.
“This type of encounter is rare. Normally bears around Tahoe don’t want anything to do with humans,” he told Storyful, a video content provider.
The Sacramento Bee was provided the video through the California Post via VideoElephant.
The National Park Service offers advice on selecting, carrying and using EPA-approved bear spray. NPS suggests carrying the spray in a quick-draw holster on your hip or chest, but not in your backpack.
Spray when the bear is 30-60 feet away, aiming slightly downward to create a cloud the bear must pass through, according to NPS.
This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 12:42 PM with the headline "The moment man fights off bear with spray at his Lake Tahoe cabin."
