Snack-attack bear who was caught on camera visiting Calif. stores released into wild

KINGS BEACH, Calif. (KOVR) - A bear in California loved snacking so much, he broke into a convenience store to chow down. The bear’s snack-time shenanigans were all caught on camera.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife said videos of multiple store visits show the same bear, and they said they’ve caught it.

Surveillance video shows three crazy confrontations inside the same store in the August.

A customer is shown slapping the bear’s backside at the store entrance, then following it inside and scaring it back out again.

Another clip shows a bear lunging at employee Paul Heigh, who backs away. “Not in the job description, no, not at all,” he said.

In-store cameras also capture a bear lying down and eating candy in the aisles.

Cell phone video inside a nearby Safeway also captured a bear browsing the shelves.

The state agency posted a video they say is that bear’s release into an area they describe as “a large expanse of wild, suitable bear habitat.”

The decision to remove the bear from Kings Beach came after a health and wellness evaluation inside a Rancho Cordova fish and wildlife center.

The agency says the bear is a 16-year old male and had a broken bone in his hind leg that had not healed.

“I think this was not good for the bear,” said Anne Bryant of the BEAR League, who is concerned the bear’s removal from its familiar territory puts it at risk. “If he was taken to another bear’s habitat, that other bear is going to territorial. This bear is compromised. He’s crippled.”

Interesting tip: Pine-Sol acts as a bear deterrent. The stores were also told to disable their automatic doors to help keep the bears out.