A bear waltzed right into a California police facility after peering through the building’s window on its hind legs. After nosing around the California Highway Patrol office near Lake Tahoe, the animal exited with two armed officers in hot pursuit.
That’s according to surveillance video published Saturday from the patrol’s Commercial Vehicle Enforcement Facility in a mountain town called Truckee. “We had an unexpected visitor,” the patrol said on Facebook after the Nov. 17 event.
In the video, the bear stands on two legs in the open doorway before lowering to walk inside, noticing two vending machines before moving on. A reflection in the window’s glass shows the bear wandering around before returning to exit through the same door.
Two officers chase behind him, one with a handgun drawn to his side. “CHP Officers don’t scare easily,” the patrol said in the video’s comments.
Things could have been grizzlier: Officers reported no damage to the facility during the bear’s indoor excursion, nor any stolen picnic baskets.
In a video dated Nov. 21, a bear appears to examine bins in the facility’s largely empty parking lot. “Our bear friend made a return visit,” the patrol said on Facebook.
The town of Truckee’s “Bear Awareness” guide for residents warns that bears change their behavior in areas where human food — in dumpsters or elsewhere — is available.
“In these cases, bears are no longer cautious and fearful around people, and this may result in property damage and even threaten human safety,” the town says.
Take a look at the incredible encounter in the video below:
