If you’re not already aware, bears are smart. Like ridiculously smart. So smart that designing food containers that bears can’t open is basically an arms race at this point. Once one bear figures out how to open a new one, they also teach other bears how to do the same. Cars, on the other hand, are much simpler for bears to get into, which is why leaving your food in them can be a risky decision. All they’ve got to do is smash and grab. But as it turns out, you also have to be careful about leaving soda in your car because a bear might break in and steal that, too.
CBC reports that Earls Cove, British Columbia resident Sharon Rosel found this lesson out the hard way after buying 72 cans of soda for a food truck that she owns. After years of living in remote areas for years, she knew better than to leave food in her car, but she had no idea they could also have a taste for soda. “I’ve been around bears since I was knee-high to a grasshopper, and I have never seen them go after pop,” Rosel told CBC.
But go after soda it did. Rosel reportedly woke up at about 3:00 a.m. to find a black bear had broken into her car, happily drinking can after can of soda. Apparently, it started with the orange Crush before moving on to cola and root beer. Once it got to the diet soda, though, the bear decided it’d had enough and left. Which, honestly, was the right decision. Soda companies can make all the claims they want about how good the diet version is, but we all know it still tastes worse than the real thing.
In total, the bear drank 69 cans of soda over the course of more than 90 minutes. It also left the interior of what appears to be a Chevrolet Tracker a complete mess, and even though there were paper towels in there as well, didn’t bother to clean up after itself. That’s larceny, destruction of property and rudeness, Mr. Bear. “Of course, white leather interior goes really good with orange Crush,” Rosel told CBC.
Meanwhile, all she could really do was watch the bear do its thing until it left. Although that doesn’t mean she didn’t try to make it leave. When throwing water on it didn’t work, she told CBC she tried a different method, saying, “Then I tried psyching him out by telling him I was a bear hunter. That didn’t do anything either, so I had to stand by and just watch him devour my car.”
After drinking that much sugar, we’re a little concerned about the bear’s blood sugar, but as Rosel pointed out, there’s also a good chance its sugar tooth led to one very cut-up tongue. A tummy ache and a bloody tongue don’t sound like a fun combination at all. Hopefully, it’s recovered by now.
As for Rosel, it’s currently unclear how much of the damage, if any, her insurance will cover. So in the meantime, if you’re passing through Earls Cove, be sure to stop by the Sharon’s Grill-It! food truck for a bite to eat. Although maybe you shouldn’t order an orange Crush soda to go with your meal.