"Soda Bear" Breaks into Car and Binges on 69 Cans of Cola and Root Beer: "You Could Hear Him Slurping It the Whole Time"

What weighs hundreds of pounds, sleeps in the forest, and is probably still on a massive high? Cocaine Bear, meet Soda Bear—a black bear in British Columbia, Canada, which broke into a woman's car and drank dozens of cans of soda she'd left inside. Sharon Rosel told CBC News her dog's barking woke her at 3 am last Thursday. That's when she discovered the bear by her car, surrounded by shattered glass. "He was drinking massive amounts of soda," she said. Read on to find out what happened.

Orange Crush Preferred

Rosel watched from her balcony in Earls Cove, B.C., as the bear broke open can after can for an hour and a half, making her car a sticky mess in the process. It started with orange soda, then went for cola and root beer, stopping when only diet soda was left. Out of 72 cans, the bear drank 69, said Rosel, who owns a food truck and had bought the soda for her business. It seemed to like Orange Crush most.

"You could hear him slurping it the whole time," Rosel told CBC. "And he didn't break them open with his claws as you would think he would. He used his teeth every time, and they were like, snapped in half. And I could hear him drinking away. I hope he didn't cut his tongue on some of that metal."

Bear "Devoured" Car

The homeowner tried to get the giant interloper away from her car, which it was continuing to wreck. She tried throwing cold water on it and pleading with it. Neither approach worked. "Then I tried psyching him out by telling him I was a bear hunter. That didn't do anything either, so I had to stand by and just watch him devour my car," Rosel told CBC.  

Ultimately, the bear ripped up the car's leather interior, broke the window roller handle, and spilled soda everywhere. "Of course, white leather interior goes really good with Orange Crush," said Rosel.

"Never Thought" Bear Would Like Soda

Having lived in bear country for years, Rosel was careful to follow bear-aware guidelines. She said she never leaves food inside her vehicle, especially after a bear broke in to snack on a single goldfish cracker left in her grandchild's car seat. But she thought leaving the soda in her vehicle would be OK overnight.  

"He was in pretty good shape, but he was hungry and that was my mistake. I never thought it could smell pop through a can," Rosel told the Coast Reporter. The bear returned the next night, apparently hoping to be second time lucky, but her dog scared it away.

Another Snacky Bear Hit Headlines

The bear's soda run was captured on security video, which Rosel posted on Facebook as a cautionary tale. "Do not underestimate their sense of smell," she said. "We have to be bear aware. We have to live with them, and bears have memories."

Last September, a 2-year-old's birthday party in Connecticut was interrupted by a sugar-craving bear. Laura Durst was having an outdoor party for her young son when a bear appeared and sniffed a guest. The adults grabbed the kids and ran for the safety of the garage. What happened next went viral.

Bear Couldn't Be Distracted From Cupcakes

The bear loped over to a picnic table and helped itself to cupcakes. The party guests got into their cars and honked their horns, and others yelled at the bear to scare it away, but the animal was unfazed. It sat there, snacking away. A family member captured the bear on video. Ironically, the song "Bear Necessities" from Disney's The Jungle Book was playing in the background.