A curious -- and hungry -- black bear caused some tense moments for a family staying at a California vacation home.
According to the Placer County Sheriff's Office, the bear got into the home in Truckee through an open garage door, which then shut behind the animal, KXTV reported.
Hayes Sherman and Bobby Harden, both 15, were watching television after midnight Saturday when they heard the bear enter the house, according to KCRA.
“I said, ‘My mom would not be aggressively opening up Tupperware at 12:30 in the morning,’” Hayes told the television station.
It was the bear raiding the refrigerator, slicing up packages of ice cream and taco meat and gorging on the food.
"The bear took two Ben and Jerry's pints from our freezer and shredded them open and ate them all and took our taco meat from the fridge," Sherman told KXTV.
Then, the bear saw the teens, who were trying to barricade the door leading from the kitchen to the television room, KXTV reported.
"It looked us both in the eyes and it started coming towards us," Hayes told KCRA. "And that was one of the scariest moments, coming face to face with the bear."
Harden used his smartwatch to call 911 and then warned his mother, who was upstairs.
"I said, 'Mom, do not come downstairs. There is a bear in our house,'" Harden told KCRA.
Minutes later, Deputy Allyson Prero arrived with a flashlight and shotgun. She was able to shoo the animal away by deploying a "bear round" from her weapon, KXTV reported.
"I think people underestimate how smart bears are," Prero told KCRA. "Bears absolutely can open doors -- doors to residences, car doors."
The teens said they learned a valuable lesson.
"We both left the garage door open, so that's a lesson," Sherman told KCRA. "The main lessons are to lock your car doors and make sure every door and garage door is closed and locked."
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