Bear Breaks Into Pizza Employee's Car Following Scent Of Food, Could Be Euthanized

A bear broke into a man’s car and destroyed the interior of the vehicle while chasing the scent of pizza. The incident took place in Juneau, Alaska, on Friday, Aug. 7.

Speaking to Juneau Empire, Andrew Fairchild, who is a pizza store employee, said he was woken up by noise from the neighbors.

"It was about 3 a.m., in the wee hours of the morning. We were awoken by a commotion by all the neighbors standing around," Fairchild told the Juneau Empire. He stepped out of his home and realized that a bear had climbed into his car while following the scent of pizza. The animal had completely destroyed the interior of the vehicle.

"I think it was the delicious smell of the pizza that drove the bear to the point where he could not resist the urge to go into the car. It’s pretty totaled on the inside. The seat belt was ripped completely out. The panel where the stereo is ripped off," he told the outlet.

The car is under repair. The bear also opened the door to the minivan of Fairchild’s daughter. However, the animal did not damage the vehicle.

Meanwhile, the bear could be put down because of the incident.

"If we were able to catch up with the bear, then we’d probably have to capture them. I don’t know if we’ll necessarily set up a trap and wait for someone to report it somewhere we can find it. We would probably euthanize it. There aren’t many places where we could relocate it. Breaking into cars brings it up to that next level of damage," Roy Churchwell, area biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game told the outlet over the phone.

Churchwell said many such bear run-ins were reported by people this summer.

"Unusually so. In at least three different neighborhoods. We think that’s probably at least two bears if not more that have figured out how to get into cars," he said.