Watch: Brown bear opens SoCal man's fridge, walks off with a slice of watermelon
All bets are off when a bear has the munchies, one Southern California family learned recently.
A brown bear was caught poking around Chris Yee’s garage on Sunday, checking out the contents of his refrigerator in search of a snack.
Yee, who lives in La Cañada Flintridge, about 14 miles north of Los Angeles, caught the whole thing on video, according to reporting by FOX11.
In the video, the bear opens the refrigerator and freezer doors, clearly planning to take its pick from all the edible treasures inside. It doesn't have the chance to check out the merchandise for too long, however, as it is soon startled by the garage door beginning to close.
The bear darts out of the garage, stopping outside. But the furry intruder isn’t discouraged easily, instead choosing to return to its post at the refrigerator once more. The bear eventually decides on a slice of watermelon and walks across the driveway to enjoy its ill-gotten gains in peace.
Watch the video below.
Bear steals slice of watermelon from California fridge
No one was more astounded than the Yee family to discover the bear's ability not only to open a refrigerator but to saunter off with a juicy slice of watermelon.
"Dad, it opened the freezer ..... Oh my god. Oh my god. It opened the fridge," a young girl can be heard saying in the background of the clip. One of the children even nicknamed the bear, calling it "bear-y."
Yee told FOX11 that the bear promptly left after enjoying his watermelon slice in their front yard.
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Preventing bear banditry
The bear's choice of snack is not a huge surprise, according to the National Park Service (NPS), as the species are omnivores with a love of fruit and veg, often found nourishing themselves with “plants, berries, fish, and small mammals.”
Human food that is not properly secured can easily fall prey to these creatures, who are known to dig in trash and even break into homes. To avoid being robbed by a fuzzy bandit, experts advise humans living in bear territory to remain vigilant.
"It’s important that people who live in bear country are especially diligent with food storage since these creatures are very intelligent, curious, and skilled at finding food,” NPS says.
If bears eat too much human food, they can lose their fear of people and their preference for natural food sources. Over time, they may begin approaching humans in search of food.
"They can become aggressive, unpredictable, and dangerous. Bears looking for human food and garbage can damage property and injure people,” according to NPS. " Not only can this be dangerous for people, but it is also harmful to bears."