2 Bears In A Week Take Shoplifting Sprees In California Safeway

KINGS BEACH, CA — Bears can’t seem to stay away from a Safeway store in King’s Beach on the north shore of Lake Tahoe.

Of the 25,000 to 35,000 black bears estimated to live in California, many are found in the Lake Tahoe basin. Most of the time, they keep to themselves, going about the business of foraging for berries, nuts, honeycomb and other delectable foodstuffs of nature.

Are bears and humans becoming the same being — the same way you and your best friend are “the same person” because you have similar ideas and likes?

Well, no. But like a human, a bear that visited Safeway on Thursday may not have wanted to spend the day foraging for food — which can be a daylong pursuit as winter approaches the Sierra Nevada Mountains — and stopped by the grocery store for a quick snack.

A customer at the store posted cell phone video of the bear browsing grocery snacks enticingly stationed at the store’s entrance. Moving past avocados, berries and other snacks, the bear settled on yogurt, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

It's unusual for a bear to amble into a grocery store, even as bear sightings multiply across the Sierras. More people are moving to the area, bringing development into the bears’ habitat in the lower elevations of the mountain range.

But it was the second time a bruin entered the King’s Beach Safeway store in just over a week. That's not just unusual, it's freaky. The first time, Adina Baidoo almost collided head-on with a bear while wheeling a grocery cart to her car around 9:30 p.m. on Aug. 17.

“Someone made a high-pitched sound that startled me, so I looked up,” Baidoo told news station KUTV, “and it is a good thing because I almost walked into the bear.”

She shot various sequences of the bear’s spree in Safeway, including one that showed it grabbing a bag of Tostitos.

"This actual bear, right there, that I almost walked into, has gone into Safeway and decided … that he is going to go shopping," Baidoo said in the video.

Bears have a keen sense of smell and impressive dexterity, according to Sierra Wild, a website operated by the U.S. Forest Service, National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management. They’re opportunistic and have learned there’s no need to forage for food when humans leave so much food and garbage unsecured, the site says.

No one was hurt in either of the incidents involving the Safeway bears — or was it a single bear that just likes the chain?

The human-bruin encounters could easily have gone south. They’re known to aggressively “bluff charge” in hopes of getting human food. The charge may be a bluff, but the tactic is mighty convincing. The bear will most likely huff and show its profile. The important thing, wildlife behavioral experts say, is not to panic.

Instead, raise your arms so you look bigger. But stand your ground. When the bear begins backing away, do the same.

Humans are rarely harmed by black bears, but injuries are reported every year in the Sierra Nevada. If a bear attacks, “roll into a ball, face down with your hands over your neck,” Sierra Wild advises.

If that doesn’t work, “fight back,” experts recommend.

A year ago, a bear walked into City Hall in South Lake Tahoe. Four years ago, a family of bears frolicked at the beach. About 20 bears live in South Lake Tahoe, and the Sierra Wildlife Coalition is working to safely remove them from the city limits.