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A curious bear that may have been interested in taking a car out for a joyride was scared off when a woman let out a bloodcurdling scream as seen in a video viewed more than seven million times.
Samantha Petty posted the video to her TikTok account showing the young bear she frightened off by yelling and pounding on the window. "Warning loud screaming," read the caption of Petty's video, which was accompanied by a hashtag indicating that she was in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, at the time of the incident.
According to the website for Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which is located in North Carolina and Tennessee, bears are most active in the early hours and late hours of spring and summer.
Officials with the National Park Service said that a bear has a keen sense of smell that allows it to find food. However, bears may seek out human food and garbage, which could lead to changes in a bear's behavior.
"Over time, these bears may begin approaching people in search of food and may become more unpredictable and dangerous," officials warned.
In Petty's video, the bear is seen sniffing at the car before opening the door.
"Oh, hell no, get away from my car," said a woman behind the camera as she and a group of other people let out a series of loud screams.
The bear paused and looked around and was still holding the door handle when the video concluded.
One of the people who was with Petty explained they were moving things out of the car and forgot to lock it.
The encounter left some viewers stunned, but others took the opportunity to joke about it.
"The bear be like: 'Damn why they screaming,'" a viewer commented.
"Lord, it sounded like y'all were being attacked by a bear," one comment read.
Some jested that the bear was trying to find the Uber or Lyft it ordered.
"The bear said he'll wait inside the car since y'all ain't ready yet," another wrote.
Petty shared other videos, and one clip showed that her efforts to scare the bear away proved to be successful.
Although the bear was standing at a different car in the follow-up video, it wasn't long before it ran off down the road.
Newsweek reached out to Petty for further comment.
It is not uncommon for encounters between humans and bears to be captured on video.
A video went viral after it showed three bears walking next to a busy road when one approached a car and gave the driver a high-five.
Another clip showed the moment that a house cat chased a black bear away from its owner's driveway.
One viral video showed a bear entering a 7-Eleven and stopping to get some hand sanitizer.
About the writer
Catherine Ferris is a Newsweek reporter based in New York. Her focus is reporting for the U.S. Trends Team. She ... Read more