August 11, 2019

Bear bursts through wall 'like the Kool-Aid Man' to escape Colorado home, police say

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A bear that broke into a Colorado home made a wild escape to avoid being taken into custody when law enforcement arrived.

The bear may have been attracted to the scent of garbage when it entered a home near Fall River Road in Estes Park, Colorado, Friday night, according to a statement from the Estes Park Police Department.

(MORE: Wildlife officials euthanize black bear cub after it became too friendly with humans)

When an officer arrived at the home, the bear then "forcibly breached in the wall like the 'Kool-Aid Man,'" police said, referring to the mascot in the shape of a pitcher who would burst through walls before saying the catchphrase "Oh yeah!" in Kool-Aid commercials.

Estes Park Police Department/Facebook
This image, posted to the Estes Park Police Department Facebook page on August 10, 2019, shows the hole where a bear broke into a house in Estes Park, Colorado.
Estes Park Police Department/Facebook
This image, posted to the Estes Park Police Department Facebook page on August 10, 2019, shows the hole where a bear broke into a house in Estes Park, Colorado.

Photos police posted to Facebook show a large hole next to the home's door, which the bear created to make its getaway.

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Officials from Colorado Parks and Wildlife advised residents to routinely close and lock all doors and windows to their homes and vehicles.

Bears in the area are so habituated to retreiving food from vehicles that some are going car to car to see if they are unlocked, even if they don't see or smell food, according to the department.

Edwin Remsburg/Universal Images Group via Getty, FILE
A brown bear climbs up a mountain side in Alaska in this undated file photo.

Some vehicles that bears have broken into were clean of any attractants -- "not even a crumb," wildlife officials said, describing the animals as "extremely smart."

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"Make it a routine to check everything is closed up before you go to bed or leave the house to do errands," department officials said. "Please do your part to keep bears wild."