A Southern California woman was startled to find a black bear who successfully opened her car’s door and began rummaging through it, and the entire encounter was caught on video.
The woman, Natalie K., resides in La Crescenta and says that this incident occurred Monday afternoon after she picked her daughter up from school.
Everything seemed normal; Natalie and her daughter went inside and went about their business for about five minutes when, to her surprise, she heard someone honking her car’s horn.
As it turns out, it was a black bear.
“While inside my car, he destroyed the upholstery of my car seat, ate Pop-Tarts and honked the horn,” Natalie said. “Only after the horn honked did I come outside to see the bear in my car. He did not immediately run out…he just stared at us and did not move.”
Natalie told KTLA she began yelling and throwing objects towards the bruin, who started to leave but ended up sitting “four feet away from the car.”
More items were thrown before the bear finally left the area, Natalie explained.
This is not the first time Natalie and her neighbors have had a bear encounter, and according to her, there is one factor that is contributing to the bears’ activity, specifically this one.
“This bear is too familiar with the area and this is due in part to the city’s policy to not issue bear-proof trash cans to Glendale residents, like Sierra Madre and Los Angeles County unincorporated areas do,” she said.
Footage of the bear going to Natalie’s SUV, opening the door and looking through was submitted by her to KTLA — it should be clarified that she did not take the video herself, as evidenced by a man’s commentary in Spanish in the background — and she confirmed she was given permission to share it.
“Está buscando para la comida,” the man recording the video says, which translates to “He is looking for food.”
The man was likely correct, as the bear made its way from a garbage can to the driveway where the SUV was parked. With a surprising amount of ease, the bear was able to open the passenger side door and sniff around.
This sequence of events clearly mystified the cameraman.
“¡Mira! ¿Vistes?” he asks, (Look! Do you see that?) followed by an exclamation: “¡No mames!” (No way!)
The video ends shortly after; thus, the interaction between Natalie and the bear was not caught on camera.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has a list of precautions Golden State residents can take and recommendations for what to do if a bear is spotted. Click here for more.