Beary thirsty: Bear in Canada breaks into car, drinks 69 cans of soda but skips diet drinks
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The bear damaged the car by ripping its interior leather, breaking the window roller handle and spilling soda everywhere.
PHOTO: SHARON ROSEL FOR CBC NEWS
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Ms Sharon Rosel was woken up by her dog’s barking in the wee hours of last Thursday and looked out of her balcony in British Colombia, Canada.
Standing next to her car was a black bear, surrounded by shattered glass from the car window.
For the next 1.5 hours, Ms Rosel watched from her balcony as the bear used its teeth to rip open soda cans that she had left in the car.
“(It) was drinking massive amounts of soda,” said Ms Rosel in a report by public broadcaster Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) on Monday.
She said that there were 72 cans of soda in her car and the bear drank 69.
It started by drinking orange soda, followed by cola and root beer, said Ms Rosel. But the animal did not touch the diet soda cans.
Ms Rosel, who owns a food truck, said she had bought the soda for her business the previous day.
She said that she deals with bears on a daily basis as she lives in a remote area. She is normally hyper-vigilant and careful to not leave food in her car, said the CBC report.
However, she did not expect that the bear would be attracted to soda.
“I’ve been around bears since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, and I have never seen them go after pop,” said Ms Rosel.
The bear damaged the car by ripping its interior leather, breaking the window roller handle and spilling soda everywhere.
Ms Rosel hopes that insurance will cover some of the damage.
The non-profit society Sunshine Coast Bear Alliance said that bears are highly skilled at gaining entry to cars and can cause significant damage.
“(Bears) can be attracted to the slightest aroma in your car, such as a candy wrapper or scented air freshener. Please keep your vehicle windows closed and locked and doors locked to avoid damage and a surprise encounter,” said the non-profit society on its website.
This is not the first time that bears were found to have consumed soda.
In 2019, a family watched a bear in Gatlinburg in the United States eat food and drink soda.
Separately, a 90kg black bear was found dead in 1985 after consuming an overdose of cocaine. The incident spurred the movie, Cocaine Bear in February.
