Security footage caught a black bear casually walking into a gas station in Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island on Monday and perusing the chocolate bars before grabbing a pack of gummy bears and leaving the store without paying.
Jay and Karen deGoesbriand, who own the Tipton Gas Bar on Vancouver Island, said they never expected a black bear to be a customer at their shop, CBC News reported.
“Mr. Bear then went out in the parking lot and ate it,” Jay told the outlet. He was drinking coffee behind the counter at the time of the incident, per CBC.
The bear made his shopping trip at around 6:30 a.m. local time and did not appear to be aggressive, the couple said, per the outlet.
“I thought it was so cool,” Karen told CBC. “Obviously [the bear] has a sweet tooth.”
A black bear wandered into the Tipton Gas Bar in Lake Cowichan on Vancouver Island, walked past racks of chocolate bars, chips and other snacks, before finally selecting a bag of gummy bears.
It did not pay for the treat. https://t.co/JGXRj67W6s https://t.co/JGXRj67W6s— CBC News (@CBCNews) October 12, 2023
Bear encounters across British Columbia have increased recently, with the B.C. Conservation Officer Service (COS) noting that the high number of bear-related complaints in 2023, primarily involving black bears, the outlet noted.
“From an average last year around 3,500 to 3,600 complaints in the month of August, we are up to approximately 6,000 complaints for the month of August,” Len Butler, the deputy chief of provincial operations, told Chek News. “So we’ve seen a dramatic increase.” (RELATED: Video Shows Mother Shielding Son From Dangerously Close Bear Who Is Eating Their Food)
Butler said he believes the main reason for the increase is the weather’s impact on the bears’ search for food, the outlet reported.