'Hungry' Mama Bear Smashing Car Window and Climbing Inside Caught on Camera

Extraordinary footage has emerged of a black bear smashing the window of a car parked outside a rental cabin in Tennessee before climbing inside the vehicle.

In a video shared with Newsweek by home security firm Ring, a mama bear and three bear cubs can be seen passing close by the vehicle.

The mama bear stops in her tracks, however, after smelling something inside the car. She quickly notices the driver's window has been left slightly down, giving her just enough of a gap to pull away the glass, resulting in an almighty smash.

The incident was filmed in Sevierville in April.

According to data compiled by the animal information website AZ Animals, as of 2023, Tennessee is home to between 5,500 and 6,000 black bears.

The majority of these bears live in protected areas within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park and Cherokee National Forest.

Though encounters with bears are relatively rare, the presence of food out in the open can attract them. Earlier this year, footage taken from another CCTV camera outside a different property in Tennessee captured a black bear breaking into a car to steal a leftover McDonald's.

In another incident, a bear entered a busy restaurant in Tennessee, though thankfully on that occasion it beat a hasty retreat.

In the event of an encounter with a bear, it's important to fight back and show aggression if a bear continues to approach you and ignores previous warnings.

A 90-year-old woman survived a bear attack in Tennessee after doing exactly that in 2022. She succeeded in warding off the animal using only a deck chair.

In the case of this particular mama bear, Richard, the owner of the cabin who caught the incident on his security camera was away, having set the property up as a rental.

His guests, meanwhile, remained indoors and are nowhere to be seen during the clip, which sounds like the most sensible option given what was going on outside.

Richard told Ring: "Apparently, mama was hungry and something in the car got her attention. [The bears] are often seen in the neighborhood. We may see them two or three times a week, then may not see them for a week or two, but they find their way back."

Commenting on the damage done to the car, he said: "This was not my car, but an overnight rental. I'm sure there was something she found interesting in the car."

The incident has nevertheless left the cabin owner and the people staying there stunned. "The guests found hair all over the front seat and claw marks on a box in the back seat that morning. I watched it over and over," he said.

"I check my camera every morning for video at odd hours of the night, early morning, and enjoy seeing the wildlife, especially the bears. I have to wonder how much I missed before the camera was installed."