Bears, oh my. My dog Buddy can be fast asleep in another room, but at the slightest crinkle of a food wrapper, he’ll tear into the kitchen. I’ve learned to keep food on counters that are out of his reach. But, imagine having set up a lovely spread of peanut butter and lemon-blueberry cupcakes for your baby’s first birthday party, and you’re waiting for your invited friends and family to arrive for the celebration, then … CRASH! A bear falls into your home, bounces up again and proceeds to scarf down the grub meant for your guests.
This actually happened at a Juneau, Alaska, home on June 21. A 180-pound black bear fell through a skylight and landed in the living room.
Glenn Merrill, the father of birthday boy Jackson, told JuneauEmpire.com, “I was literally in the room, and I heard this cracking.” Merrill was referring to the sound of the skylight’s two layers of plexiglass creaking under the bear’s weight. “The next thing you know,” he said, “there’s this bear that, I mean, literally, fell right from the skylight. It was like three feet away from me.”
Merrill said he locked eyes with the bear, and they stared at each other in alarm. Merrill said he didn’t know if he or the bear was more surprised. Merrill quickly flew into action and called to his parents to come collect birthday boy Jackson. They scooped him up and whooshed him out of the room to safety. Then Merrill ran to a nearby room and quickly closed the door.
Meanwhile, from behind the closed glass doors of the kitchen, little Jackson’s mother Alicia Bishop witnessed what transpired next. “The bear walks over and puts its paws up on the table,” she said, “and starts licking the birthday cupcakes, and I’m just like, you’ve got to be kidding me.”
Merrill and Bishop said the bear seemed surprisingly calm as they shoo-shooed him out the door. Their guess was that he was accustomed to seeing humans. Anyway, a few minutes later Mr. Bear reappeared, this time looking through the glass from their back porch.
Clearly Mr. Bear had enjoyed the cupcakes and wanted seconds.
The couple’s guests were scheduled to arrive at any minute, so Bishop called 911, and Merrill ran next door to borrow bear spray from a neighbor. (Funny, I guess when you live in Alaska, you have bear spray on hand.) Merrill ran back and sprayed into the yard, and the bear ambled off back into the woods.
One thing is for sure: They didn’t run out of conversation at the party.
Living in Manhattan, the only animal I worry about eating my food is the aforementioned Buddy. I never dreamed I’d be writing this next bit, but here goes:
How to Bear-Proof Your Home
Just in time for the Fourth of July: Keep your barbecue grill clean.
Don’t leave trash or groceries in your car.
Buy a bear resistant garbage can.
Don’t put trash out until collection day.
Keep your pets inside, and keep your doors and windows locked.
Don’t leave scented products outside, i.e., suntan lotion, insect repellent, soap, candles, etc.
Harvest fruit off trees ASAP and quickly pick up any fruit that fell on the ground.
Dorri Olds is a contributing journalist for TheBlot Magazine.
