Bear goes on car-park rampage, damaging around ten cars
A bear entered a company car park in the northern part of Russia’s Sverdlovsk region and did more than sniff the cars. The animal tore open doors and bonnets, smashed windows and pulled one car’s rear seat out of the cabin, leaving deep dents and scratches on several body panels. No one was injured.
A local police representative confirmed that the bear damaged several parked cars and that hunters were sent to the area to track its movements.
According to eyewitness accounts and security camera footage, the bear arrived in the car park at around five in the morning. Four cars suffered the most damage, but nearly ten vehicles in total sustained damage of varying severity.
Why would a bear break into a car?
The most likely reason is not anger at Ford or Lada, but food. Bears have an exceptionally strong sense of smell, and food, packaging or other strongly scented items left in a car can draw the animal towards the cabin. If a bear has previously found food easily around people, the risk increases further.
Side windows, frameless windows, exterior mirrors and outer door panels offer relatively little resistance to the animal. Even a locked car will not stop a determined bear if a sufficiently tempting smell is coming from the cabin. That is why a simple rule applies when parking in bear country: avoid leaving food and strongly scented items visible in the car or inside it for extended periods.
