Hungry bear can’t get into locked trash, so he steals the whole can, CO video shows

A hungry bear in Colorado wasn’t too thrilled to find a locked trash can in a driveway.

Isaac Brisk, a Colorado Springs resident, shared a video of the unusual visitor taken on his home surveillance system. The video shows the bear approaching and circling the trash can before standing on its hind legs and attempting to crack the trash can open.

The bear tipped the can over, perhaps expecting it to open and for some food scraps to tumble out. But the trash can was strapped shut, so the bear resorted to a new strategy — sneaking off with the whole thing by pushing it away while standing on its hind legs.

Brisk said in a Facebook post that he found the trash can, still strapped shut, in the driveway across the street.

According to the timestamp in the surveillance video, the bear’s theft took place at 3:30 a.m. on Sept. 27.

The trash can in the video is a “perfect example of bear safety protocols in action,” according to Out There Colorado.

“This time of the year, bears are particularly active as they work to get the vital calories they need for hibernation season,” Out There Colorado said. “It’s important to bear-proof homes and vehicles in bear country, making sure that trash and food aren’t accessible.”

Some Colorado Springs residents are required to bear-proof their trash cans, as per a 2020 ordinance issued to those who live west of I-25, KKTV reported.

The ordinance asks residents to either store their trash cans in a garage or shed or to ensure their trash cans are bear resistant, KKTV said.

Colorado Parks and Wildlife received 4,943 reports of bears in 2020, according to a Tweet from February. Out of those, more than 1,600 involved trash as an attractant, KOAA News5 reported.

This story was originally published October 1, 2021 at 3:47 PM with the headline "Hungry bear can’t get into locked trash, so he steals the whole can, CO video shows."