At first Mammoth Police thought burglars had broken into several cars off Old Mammoth Road, but a closer investigation revealed that a bear or bears had opened unlocked car doors in search of food.

Food bags were found outside around one car and the bear ripped part of one car seat. Mammoth Police Sergeant Karen Smart said that one of the cars contained a fast food bag that might have attracted the bear.

Ironically, several of the cars were not locked and contained valuables like ipods, CDs and more. Of course, the bear wasn’t interested in that kind of loot. The bear did leave muddy paw prints on some of the cars, offering further proof that this was not a human burglary caper.

Officers did look for the offending bear to haze him, but couldn’t find him since the forest runs right up to Old Mammoth. Vehicles were not damaged by the bear, except for the torn seat.

The incident offered one more chance to advise not feeding wild animals, lock up your trash and don’t leave food in cars.

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