Yikes! While I was chatting about socks above, we heard a car horn honking outside. A bear locked himself inside my Toyota! WaaaHH! We could see him panicking, and the car was rocking back and forth. It is a new car (new to us, anyway,) and all I could think of was him tearing it up! I ran and opened the rear door, then ran back to the house as fast as I could. DH stood by with garden hose, but it wasn’t needed. Bear went one way, I went the other. The naughty scamp then went up the drive to the neighbor’s and opened his pickup door! Neighbor scared him off, then we called everybody we could think of to warn them to lock their doors. He tore off both the front inside door panels, RATS!
Where we live, nobody needs to lock cars or houses, but I guess that’s a thing of the past!
Omg! I just read your post. Freakin’ unbelievable! Who’d ever think you’d have to lock your doors to keep a bear out? Totally sucks about your door panels. Replacing anything in a car is expensive these days.
I used to get a little scared about bears when we lived in Santa Fe. A couple of the doors had lever handles, yikes, I heard stories about those bears. If it’s a tough year for them, they’ll come down out of the mountains in search of food.
Sounds like you’re either near Donner State Park or up by one of the ski areas (i.e., not near downtown).
DH and I have visited Truckee on New Year’s for the last several years so that our Bernese Mtn Dogs can at least experience snow. I only wish I could figure out how to make a living there…
edited to add: was it your car that will need the new panels? or one of your neighbors’ cars?
Scary. Very scary. I’m glad the damage was no worse than it was but please, if it happens again, let the bear destroy the car. You are much more important.
Our car! And we have a $750 deductible! We’re actually on the other side of Truckee from Donner State Park, in what is called the Glenshire Area. It’s 5 miles out of Truckee town but to the east as you go down the canyon on I 80 towards Reno. Instead of turning towards Boca Dam, you go the other way off I 80.
I LOVE Berner’s! When we were in Vermont once (my DH grew up there) we stayed down the street from The Von Trapp Farm. They had a big friendly Bernese Mountain dog who would come out to greet you. I guess we just have bears at our house…
Hahahahahaha…uh, actually, they do! But we don’t have lever handles, also two dogs who would go bonkers. We have a back porch door that is half glass. It might be wise to put a burglar grill over it.
They have figured it out! Ours is the 4th car in the neighborhood to suffer such a fate, when somebody (DH says it was me, I say it was HIM) left it unlocked. After the bear exited our car, we watched him saunter over to our neighbor’s pickup and just pull the door open. They have figured out how to use their claws. The problem only arises if the door slams shut behind them. In our case the bear somehow LOCKED the doors while clambering around inside; the first time I tried to open the door it was locked. Then when he kept hitting the horn I think it frightened him even worse.
When I took the car to the Lexus Dealer today (nothing like pulling up to the Lexus dealer with your disheveled, bear-clawed Toyota) they said they had fixed a Lexus that had had the same thing happen a few weeks ago.
Nearby Incline Village, Nevada has had way worse trouble than us, for the past several years. Bears have broken into houses with people inside! But usually they break windows and yank doors off empty cabins.
Neighbor down the street had a bear break into his garage and drink a few six packs of beer that were in the outside fridge (plus a few Pepsi chasers), but nobody has had one in the house yet. I think we may be catching up, though, by the way things are going.
That’s what the sheriff said. But…my new car! The bruin was defiling it! The bear was actually pretty small, maybe a yearling. DH says he weighed about 300 pounds, I didn’t think he/she was that big. It did snap at me through the window, leaving its horrid bear breath fogging it up. But the way I yanked open the door, it put the door between me and bear, with another car blocking him. The only way he could run was the other way. Otherwise there’s no way I would have let him out. And my speed toward the front door was matched only by the bear’s in the other direction.
They have guns that shoot red pepper spray at them, but that would just make the bear madder, if you ask me. It wasn’t a big bear, a big bear would have trouble getting into a little Toyota Highlander. Of course, I saw how sharp its claws were, from the shredded panels. At least he didn’t rip the seats or poop or urinate. Still, I had to clean up dirty pawprints and bear drool.
It’s been really warm, so they aren’t hibernating yet. They are looking to tank up with extra food. I didn’t have any food in the car, no wrappers, no chapstick, gum, nothing. Just a crummy bottle of plain water, but I guess they will snoop in cars since they have learned there might be something inside.
Sometimes it’s Mama Bear that will get you. Let the dang bear have the car next time. Please.
We have bears that wander into populated areas around here but not as often as you seem to have it happen. We’ve encroached so much on all the wild areas, where else can they go? That and they’ve learned that there are goodies to be had all over the place.
There are some bears in the hills toward LA. They tend to climb into hot tubs and swimming pools. :lol: In south Orange County all we’ve got coyotes and the occasional mountain lions.
Yes, adrenaline is amazing stuff! Both of you were probably setting land-speed records, or at least Personal Bests! So glad you weren’t hurt. Good thinking, to keep the door between you and the bear. Even a young one isn’t good to mess with.
The bears at Yosemite have learned how to open cars. Overnight and week-long hikers often learn this the hard way. Evidently the bears use their claws like can openers around the edges of the doors or windows. Ye gods…
