Humans don’t exactly have a great track record with interacting with animals of late. As the world gets more crowded, more and more species become endangered and put into protective custody in places where humans can interact with them, it feels like we’re just gonna have more weird run-ins where dumb stuff happens. Bears especially feel like the kind of animals that we take for granted and forget can be dangerous and have gotten pretty adjusted to being around humans.
I remember growing up as a kid and going to Clark’s Trading Post in New Hampshire, a weird attraction that has a train ride where a guy dressed like a caveman in a banged-up old go-cart chases the train shouting and banging on the side of the train, but also a place that prided itself on bear performances. That meant seeing bears do all sorts of weird tricks in exchange for licks from an ice cream cone. It always felt like a disaster waiting to happen, but whatever. I’m clearly no bear expert, because who knew that bears could open car doors?
This video is horrifying in a lot of ways, while still being mildly endearing. Look, bears are dangerous creatures and wild animals, you probably shouldn’t get too close to them. That being said, this bear looks to just want to hang out and this car is probably air-conditioned. This family just wanted to watch a cool bear hang out by their car, but nobody expected him to be good at opening doors. Seriously, who taught a bear to open a car door? Also, why wasn’t that dude’s door locked? Who leaves their door unlocked?