Black bear in B.C.'s Kootenays blamed for mangling car in attempted break-in

It was a rude awakening when Trail, B.C., resident Michael Allison saw a message from his roommate that his vehicle was mangled Tuesday morning.

When he went outside to inspect his car, there were pieces of shattered glass everywhere, a back door’s metal frame was bent, and there were scratch marks all throughout the vehicle.

“We both immediately came to the assumption that it must be the bear because we see it so often. And I mean, what else can just rip the door off like that?” Allison told CTV News. “There were very obvious bear prints right near where the door was shattered – and there was also some bear fur.”

He suspects it’s the neighbourhood black bear, which he sees about two to three times a week.

He said he didn’t leave any food or garbage inside the car, but believes some spilled coffee may have enticed the animal to target his vehicle.

“It generally avoids people. It just saw an opportunity to rip open a tin can and get some food,” Allison said.

Wildlife experts believe it is likely the bear has broken into vehicles in the past.

“Most often when bears break into things it's because they've done so successfully in the past and received a food award of some sort,” said Vanessa Ignardy with WildsafeBC.

Ignardy said when black bears come out of hibernation, they typically seek lush green spaces to feast on dandelions.

“Instead of going to those natural food sources, they may direct their attention to other areas they've had success in the past, which is really unfortunate,” she said.

In nearby Rossland, there were several vehicles damaged by bears around this time last year.

Ona Stanton caught a bear red handed in a truck because the door had closed on the animal, trapping it inside.

“We couldn't quite figure out what the noise was and we stood there for a minute, and our truck was shaking in our driveway,” she said, recalling being woken up around 3:30 a.m. last April.

She called 911 and police officers arrived at the home to provide assistance.

The bear eventually escaped to safety, but not before leaving a big mess behind: shredded car seats, exposed wiring and torn up plastic in the truck’s interior.

“I guess the best thing about retelling a story is that hopefully it saves somebody else from having their vehicle destroyed,” she said.

Ignardy reminded residents and those heading out to bear country to lock doors and remove all attractants.