Bear ransacks truck for coffee

We have it on good authority that Fort Smith is a charming place, one where travellers and explorers can visit exhibits such as the Northern Life Museum, take in the sights and sounds of the South Slave Friendship Festival and catch a peek of wildlife such as pelicans and the endangered Whooping Crane. And coffee loving truck destroying bears.

Yes, coffee loving truck destroying bears.

Before heading out on a camping and hiking trip into Canada’s Northwest Territories, the Cote family presumed that they had everything that they needed for their trek. All the usual items were packed and they were stocked up on coffee, coffee that they drunk throughout the day before their overnight stay near Fort Smith.

The problem is that somewhere, lurking nearby, was one of these coffee loving bears.

Needless to say the Cote’s woke up to a little bit of a surprise….

“I saw all these foam pieces on the ground and I tried to remember if I parked [the truck] beside all this garbage,” said Genevieve Cote.

But it wasn’t rubbish; it was the remnants of the inside of their vehicle which had been torn to shreds.

There were paw prints all over the truck and the driver’s side door was open. Soon the proverbial penny dropped into place with an alarming thud. It was then that Genevieve realised that a bear had visited.

“So the bear got in there, left a bunch of paw prints everywhere and drank a left over coffee,” she said rather matter-of-factly.

Based on the size of the marks, experts believe it to have been a relatively young bear that did the breaking and entering.

Alongside ripping up the upholstery and almost ripping the passenger’s seat to shreds – “I’m just shocked it didn’t chew on the steering wheel,” Cote added – the bear also finished off some leftover coffee.

“There are bears out in the wilderness, that’s their home,” she said.

“You just have to be careful about it. Wildlife is just spectacular in many ways.”

Spectacular. And coffee-lovingly dangerous.

Stay safe, lock doors and keep all coffee away from wild animals!