Startling footage has emerged of a bear and her cub breaking into a family home in Monrovia, California, and helping themselves to donuts that were left on the top of a counter. The bears had entered by removing the screen of an open window.
The footage was captured by homeowner Alice Taylor, who managed to stay calm and assess the situation.
"I was just trying to figure out how do we get them out," Taylor said to abc7. In other circumstances, she said that she'd have made noise straight away to scare them away. However, in this instance, she was initially "a little hesitant" as she wasn't sure if they'd feel trapped and agitated in the confines of her kitchen.
Eventually, she started making banging sounds and the bears left the same way they had come in.
Incredibly, this wasn't the family's first encounter with bears in their own home. Taylor's son had previously come face to face with a bear in his bedroom. Taylor told abc7 that "he was lying in bed and he heard heavy footsteps."
Bears are common in Monrovia and they are part of the reality of life in the region. Taylor goes on to say that the locals are "accepting of our bears," which are embraced by the community. An an example of this acceptance, locals can expect to find their trash cans knocked over occasionally. She says: "there are certain things that go with having bears in the community."
Bear safety
According to the National Park Service, most bears are only interested in protecting food, cubs, or their space. Bear attacks are rare, but they do happen and can lead to serious injuries or even death.
Alice Taylor did the right thing in this case. Firstly, she kept calm and she didn't run. Confident that the bears had an escape route, she then made lots of noise, which scared the mama bear and the cub away.
For more tips on how to avoid close encounters, and how to stay safe if you get too close for comfort, see our guide what to do if you meet a bear.
