A Georgia woman says she was startled when she walked into her garage to find a 7-foot bear trying to claw its way out. Teresa Ariail told Channel 2 the bear was able to bust through her garage door window and climb out Tuesday night.
He just tore the inside up. He climbed up and crawled out that door,” Ariail said. Ariail said she didn't wait to watch the bear escape.
"I didn't really feel like I was in danger but he was so big and making so much noise and doing so much damage I was scared to death,” Ariail said.
But with her shotgun in one hand and cellphone in the other she took a four-second video.
Ariail said the bear got in through a side door. “He had come inside after my garbage and turned the garbage cans over and in doing so he shut the garage door and locked himself inside,” Ariail said.
The Department of Natural Resources says this isn't typical bear behavior but that a wild bear will do just about anything to get out if it feels trapped.
That apparently includes breaking a window, nearly 7 feet off the ground.
“His head was all the way to the top,” Ariail said.
State officials said spring rouses bears from hibernation and that's why it's imperative to keep food and garbage locked away. Ariail said she thought both her garbage and garage door were safe but has learned her lesson.
With all the damage left to her door, the only damage to the bear was just a little blood left behind. Ariail said she watched the bear run away and run back to its home just fine.
