Does a Bear Steal a Car in the Woods?

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In rural Colorado, it does. That's where a couple believed they'd caught a car thief in action. Turns out it was really the nation's #1 threat — a bear — that was rummaging through their vehicle in search of food.

According to Mikel Baker—spokesperson for the Sheriff’s Office in Teller County, Colorado, where the incident took place—bears develop a keen appetite before hibernation to build up enough food reserves to last the winter. Some of them have developed the smarts to operate car doors.

This, combined with their not excellent sense of smell, can spell doom for the interior of a car.

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Peculiar chains of cause and effect can be triggered by even a single container of yogurt left unattended, as relayed in another story by spokesperson Baker:

In recent years, one bear practically destroyed a car after yogurt was left in it. Afterward, investigators found yogurt smeared throughout the car.

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You just bet it was not low-fat.

Photo credit and source: The Denver Post