A Baby Bear Cub Took A Stroll Through An Oregon Convenience Store

Shoppers at a Rite Aid drug store in Oregon got a surprise (or a scare) last weekend when a bear cub was seen strolling through the aisles in a video just released today.

Witnesses tell KGW (Portland) that the bear cub was first spotted at a hotel, but he (or she) lost interest and wound up at a nearby drug store in Ashland, Oregon, a small town just north of the California border. In the video caught on a shopper’s smartphone, the cub can be seen scurrying around while a police officer tries to trap him.

According to the Arizona Republic, the police officer was eventually able to corral the bear cub into a shopping basket.

Unfortunately, the cub won’t be reunited with his mother. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (DFW) will keep the cub until he can safely be transferred to a rehab facility or a zoo. But returning him to the wild is out of the question. Since he’s had contact with humans, he can’t go back to the forest. Bears that have lost their fear of humans are dangerous and often have to be put down, according to the DFW “Living With Bears” page.

“Bears should never be allowed access to human food or garbage; it habituates them to people and increases the chance of conflict. Once habituated to finding food near homes or campgrounds, bears can become a threat to human safety and must often be destroyed.”

They also give some handy advice, should you handle a bear — adult or cub — in the wild. Or, you know, in a drug store.

• Make sure the bear has a way to escape.
• Stay calm: don’t run or make sudden movements.
• Back away slowly.
• Avoid direct eye contact with the bear.
• In the unlikely event that you are attacked, fight back: Shout, be aggressive, and use rocks, sticks and tools to fend off an attack.

According to KPTV (Portland), fatal bear attacks on humans are actually quite rare: between 1900 and 2009, 63 people were killed by bears in the U.S. and Canada. The most recent known fatal bear attack on a human in the United States occurred in New Jersey in September of this year, according to this Inquisitr report.

Have you ever been face-to-face with a bear cub or adult bear? Let us know about your experience below.

[Image courtesy of: First People]