In a Facebook post on Tuesday, the Aspen Police Department shared a video of the vehicle as a reminder to “Be Bear Aware.”
“Can you guess what’s going on with this poor car? We didn’t find it at the salvage yard, but it might be headed there now,” the post read. “This unlocked car was broken into and absolutely destroyed. The seats were shredded, the doors were torn to pieces, and the suspect left an extra special surprise in the back seat.
“We have a band of bandits in Aspen who will stop at nothing for a good snack. They’ll raid your trees, your homes, and yes—even your car,” the post continued.
To prevent the destruction of property—or worse, an attack—the police department ended the post by reminding locals to lock their homes, cars and trash.
In fact, the City of Aspen’s Trash Ordinance requires that “trash receptacles are latched, secure, and bear-resistant,” according to the city’s website.
“Wildlife-resistant refuse containers are required for curbside pick-up. Trash can only be left outdoors if it is stored in a wildlife-proof refuse container or wildlife-resistant dumpster,” the city said.
The city’s municipal code defines a wildlife-resistant refuse container as: “a fully enclosed container that can be constructed of pliable materials, but must be reinforced to deter access by wildlife.”
A wildlife-resistant dumpster, on the other hand, is a “fully enclosed metal container with a metal lid. The lid must have a latching mechanism, which prevents access to the contents by wildlife.”
Because bears have such a strong sense of smell, they can detect food from great distances. Once a bear receives a food reward, however, they lose their wariness of humans and become a threat. Sadly, bears that become threats are often euthanized.
The ordinance was created to keep bears safe. Failure to adhere to it may result in fines up to $1,000, the city said.
A couple of Facebook users left cheeky responses on the police department’s post.
“I imagine when the unfortunate owners saw their car it was more than they could BEAR,” said one.
Observing that the car’s airbags were deployed during the incident, another commenter added: “The airbags prolly [sic] scared the [poop] out of him.”
The bear in Aspen isn’t the first to make headlines in recent weeks. On October 31, a brown bear in Italy broke into a couple’s apartment. In California, a man returned home to find a bear eating KFC left on his kitchen counter.
