A California school teacher got a shock when she discovered a bear had broken into her classroom to eat the granola bars that come with the class’s emergency earthquake kits.
Local TV station KGET reported that Elaine Salmon of Peak to Peak charter school in Pine Mountain Club, about 90 miles north of Los Angeles, was in the school main office printing out paperwork when the bear launched its daring raid.
“When I came back to the classroom to open the door, the bear came charging toward the door because, I guess, it was able to come in but couldn’t get out,” she told KGET.
The bear was safely removed by Salmon’s husband, Ian Sawrey, who happens to specialise in cases dealing with bears in the rural area.
In an interview with the TV station, Sawrey said human-bear interactions were becoming a serious problem.
“I’ve had encounters with residents that have been sitting in their room watching television, and the bear will tear through the screen and the window while they’re in the room,” said Sawrey.
“I’ve had residents come home to their house with a bear in the fridge and they’ve yelled and screamed at the bear and the bear just looked at them and kept on eating.”
He described a community that has taken numerous precautions to deal with bears in recent years, including setting up bear patrols and installing deterrents such as nail-filled mats and electrified windows in order to discourage them from entering homes.
Human encounters with bears are increasing in many parts of the world as development encroaches on bear habitat.
