It Looks Like Even Your Car Isn't Safe From Bears - 'Bear Ripped Off All My Door Handles'

Growing up on the shores of Lake Superior and spending much of my life in the woods, I've had countless run-ins with black bears — but one Reddit post made me double-take at a bear's full-blown car demolition. I've heard bears rummage through packs, scale trees, and swim through roaring rapids to get to food, but I have never seen a bear remodel a car.  

That's why the post by Reddit user, Clean-Goose-894 on r/mildlyinfuriating stopped me in my tracks. The post shows a relatively clean car, with every single door handle ripped off by a black bear. The thread has gone nuclear, collecting more than 20,000 upvotes as of this writing, along with an unhinged roar of comments.  The handle-less owner didn't blame the bear, writing, "I'm not mad at the bear, bro was just looking for a snack ... Bear was actually very mindful and gentle as far as bears go." They later posted a trail-cam photo of the culprit — a portly black bear who has undoubtedly made somewhat of a living robbing cars and dumpsters.

Reactions to the bear's antics range from dry humor to total condemnation of people who live anywhere near black bears. One clever user joked, "These bear necessities are getting out of hand." Other users were quicker to judge, saying, "Every time I see something crazy like this, I think, why do people live where there are bears?" Ironically, this commenter was from Australia — a place where seemingly everything is trying to kill you.

One user's bear story opened the floodgates to anecdotal nightmare fuel. "Being from [the Colorado mountains], I saw a neighbor's crew cab get demolished, bear got in, couldn't get out," read one comment. Another described a bear that "busted out all four side windows at the trailhead, then proceeded to slime up the seats. Drove four hours home in slobbery broken glass in winter." But these horror stories aren't representative of how black bear encounters often go — even when a car is involved.

I've run into these oafs coming around bends during romps in the woods, only to find a bear marking a tree. This big mama was never going to treat me like a can of sardines, no matter what some Reddit users might think. Keyboard warriors in the city may clutch their pearls about black bears, but they're harmless as long as you avoid gear mistakes while camping. Never have I thought of climbing a tree; in that case, a bear might want to play. 

However, I have camped in the Arctic, in the deltas surrounding Churchill, Manitoba – the Polar Bear capital of the world. Here, you not only see but feel the presence of these dangerous bears. Even spotting far-off drifts of white moving across the horizon will send shivers down your spine. But unlike the fear spread on Reddit, that presence brought a strange sense of acceptance and peace, a reminder that you are very much not at the top of the food chain.