According to police, the bear opened an unlocked door on the driver’s side and climbed in. When the door swung shut behind it, the bear clawed at all four doors to get out, but inadvertently “butt-shifted the car into neutral,” according to the Boulder County Police Department.
The car then rolled down a hill for about 100 feet, swiping a tree before coming to a stop. With one of the doors now propped open, the ursine invader “fled on foot… er, on paws, in an unknown direction.”
The department posted a photo of the wrecked car on Facebook.
“Last night a delinquent bear pulled open an unlocked driver’s door and climbed in, and of course, the door closed behind it,” read the adjoining caption. “The bear worked on digging out through all 4 doors, but apparently butt-shifted the car into neutral.”
The authorities called the incident “a good reminder to keep your car doors locked, especially in bear country.”
Amazingly another bear was discovered behind the wheel in Colorado last week, where wildlife officials were needed to pry the creature out. Late at night on July 1, a family in Aspen Park saw the windows of their car fogged up and the vehicle rocking back and forth.
But it wasn’t necking teenagers making all the fuss, it was a bear.
“He didn’t know how to get out so he started thrashing the inside of the vehicle,” Shane Materkowski told CBS 4. He called the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department, who brought in Colorado Parks and Wildlife to help free the beast.
“It was kind of shocking to see how big he actually was once he was out of the vehicle,” said Materkowski. “I’m honestly still baffled this happened, I still keep thinking this is a dream.”
Four days later, but more than a thousand miles away, a North Carolina family vacationing in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, discovered a bear opening the door to their four-door Prius.
Amber Martin, the car owner’s daughter, says the animal used its mouth to open the door.
Martin then hit the panic button for the car, scaring the bear and its two cubs away. She says her mother’s car suffered no damage as a result of the incident.