Quick Take
- This bear didn't just raid the trash. It took the whole container with it, and the surveillance footage is exactly as absurd as it sounds. See the dumpster heist →
- The bear came back, and wildlife officials say that is no coincidence. Watch the bear return →
- What looks like a funny animal video is actually a scenario that wildlife officials in Colorado treat as a serious and illegal problem. Understand the legal risk →
- The restaurant manager had seen bears in the garbage before, but nothing prepared him for what the security camera revealed. Watch the footage →
A hungry bear looking for an easy meal is one thing. A bear deciding to take the entire dumpster with it is something else. Surveillance footage from a Colorado restaurant captured exactly that, showing a determined black bear grabbing onto a large garbage container and rolling it away in search of leftovers. Apparently, dumpster diving was not efficient enough. This bear wanted takeout.
Watch This Bear Take an Entire Dumpster Below:
Colorado Bear Rolls Away With Restaurant Dumpster
The surveillance video takes us to Colorado Springs, Colorado, where a bear developed a taste for the leftovers behind Edelweiss Restaurant. Employees arrived at the German restaurant in the summer of 2013 to discover that one of their dumpsters had somehow moved from its usual location. When they checked the restaurant’s recently installed security cameras, the culprit turned out to be considerably furrier than expected.
The footage shows the black bear walking up to the large dumpster and rising onto its hind legs. Instead of simply reaching inside, the bear gets hold of the container and begins pulling it backward. The dumpster rolls right along with it until both disappear from the camera’s view.
Reports at the time said the bear moved the dumpster roughly 50 feet into the parking lot before tipping it over and getting to the discarded food inside. Edelweiss manager Dieter Schnackenberg told ABC News that bears had gotten into the restaurant’s garbage before, but watching one drag away the entire container was a new one.
The Bear Came Back for Seconds
Even better, or considerably worse if you were responsible for taking out the trash, this was not a one-time visit. The bear returned the following night and went after the restaurant’s garbage again. Local news reports said employees began looking for ways to secure the dumpsters after realizing they had a repeat customer.
That behavior is not especially surprising to wildlife officials. Bears are opportunistic feeders, and garbage can provide a huge amount of food for very little effort. Colorado Parks and Wildlife warns that once a bear successfully finds food around homes, businesses, campsites, or trash containers, it can learn to return to the same place looking for another meal.
That appears to be exactly what happened here. The bear had discovered a reliable food source and remembered where to find it. The only unusual part was the method. Most animals raid the trash. This one basically took the trash with it.
Is It Okay To Feed Bears?
Never feed or intentionally approach a wild bear.
©Virrage Images/Shutterstock.com
A bear rummaging through garbage can look funny on a security camera, but wildlife officials take the behavior seriously. Intentionally feeding bears is illegal in Colorado, and even accidentally giving them access to food or garbage can create problems for both bears and people.
According to Colorado Parks and Wildlife, bears that find human food can change their behavior and begin seeking meals from homes, trash cans, campsites, and other developed areas. As they become accustomed to finding food around people, they may also become less wary of humans, increasing the risk of dangerous encounters.
The best solution is prevention. Colorado wildlife officials recommend keeping garbage secured, using bear-resistant trash containers when possible, keeping food and other scented items out of reach, and never intentionally offering food to a bear. After all, once a bear learns that the local dumpster serves dinner, it may remember exactly where to come back for seconds.
