In some parts of the world , it's not uncommon to find creepy crawlies nestled in the toilet, preying on someone to sit down before inflicting pain upon them.
But in most places, you can usually expect to go to the toilet without expecting a visit from an unwanted member of the animal kingdom – certainly not from a creature bigger than a human.
For one Alaskan woman, however, this far-fetched scenario became a reality.
Shannon Stevens’ nighttime trip to the bathroom had unknowingly disturbed a bear peacefully resting its head inside an outhouse toilet in the wilderness. Her reward? A bite on the backside.
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“I got out there and sat down on the toilet and immediately something bit my butt right as I sat down,” Stevens told the Associated Press. “I jumped up and I screamed when it happened. It was bleeding, but it wasn’t super bad.”
Stevens’ brother, Erik, was duly notified of the bear’s presence by Shannon’s screams. He rushed over to find Shannon tending to the wound on her bottom, with the bear still in the bathroom.
Erik stated: “I opened the toilet seat and there’s just a bear face just right there at the level of the toilet seat, just looking right back up through the hole, right at me."
The Stevens siblings were staying at Erik’s yurt about 20 miles northwest of Haines, in the wilderness of south-eastern Alaska. The bear found its way into the outhouse after finding an opening at the bottom of the structure.
The Stevens quickly left the bear’s adopted den to stay in the yurt overnight. When they ventured outside the morning after, they found tracks all over the area between the yurt and the outhouse toilet. Thankfully, the bear had moved on, making subsequent visits to the bathroom rather less risky.
“As soon as we realized everything was fine, she had this minor wound, but it wasn’t a big deal, I think we started laughing because we couldn’t believe how crazy it was,” Erik told KFVS12.
So always make sure you check what’s in the toilet before you sit down – you never know what might be lurking in the shadows...
