Video of the chaotic scene shows the bear moving around inside the vehicle while the group tries to figure out how to get it out.One man first attempts to use what appears to be a Slim Jim tool to unlock one of the front doors from the outside.CLICK HERE FOR MORE COVERAGE FROM OUTKICK OUTDOORSNo luck.
So they moved on to Plan B: sacrifice the window.A wild black bear stands on hind legs and inspects a green car parked on a rural forest road.(Getty Images)Another man grabbed a large rock and smashed out the rear window of the SUV.
Once the glass shattered, all three people immediately took off running for dear life.Seconds later, the huge bear crawled through the broken window and made its escape.The incident, which was captured on video, happened in Gatlinburg, where encounters between people and black bears are pretty much a daily occurrence during warmer months.Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to approximately 1,900 American black bears and sees around 12 million visitors each year.It was not clear exactly how the bear got into the SUV, but it was likely looking for food when it accidentally locked itself inside.
And apparently, the keys got locked inside with the animal.All things considered, this was a happy ending for the bear.It doesn’t always work out that way.Earlier this month, Colorado Parks and Wildlife reported that a black bear died after getting trapped inside an unlocked vehicle in Colorado Springs.
The bear apparently opened the vehicle door, climbed inside and then became trapped when the door closed behind it.The animal tore apart the interior while trying to escape but was not discovered for several days.A black bear mother relaxes on a boulder.(Chris Mathein / Getty Images)Colorado Parks and Wildlife officer Travis Sauder told The Colorado Springs Gazette that bears are more than capable of getting themselves into vehicles — getting back out can be the problem."Typically what happens is they pull the door open, get in, get the...