A bear has had a bit of an adventure after it broke into a family's home and helped itself to a lasagne from their freezer.
Humans and wildlife have been living fairly harmoniously for thousands of years, but as our species grows, we are encroaching on their natural habitat.
While this can often be a bad thing, the wildlife in question can also find ways to adapt to their new surroundings - and in the case of one bear, learn how to use a freezer.
A black bear in Barkhamsted, Connecticut, recently displayed a penchant for Italian cuisine, breaking into a local home to satisfy its lasagna cravings.
The audacious break-in was caught on homeowner Helena Richardson's Ring security camera and has since gone viral.
The video footage reveals the bear's 35-minute adventure, during which it effortlessly bypassed a screen door and made its way to the kitchen. In the opening scenes, the curious bear can be seen in the house's foyer before heading straight for the kitchen, where it had one goal in mind – the refrigerator.
The tagged black bear, initially seen on all fours, stood up on its hind legs, opened the freezer drawer, and skillfully retrieved a platter of frozen lasagna with its mouth.
Once the food prize was secured, the bear left the freezer door ajar and perched itself atop the freezer to reach an open window. The getaway was nothing short of extraordinary as the bear bounded out of the kitchen window and onto the outdoor deck, all while clutching the lasagna.
Watch the incredible footage below:During the bear's escapade, no humans were present in the Connecticut residence. Richardson, the homeowner, recounted her amazement when she received a notification from her Ring doorbell at work, alerting her to the uninvited guest in her home.
"I knew no one was supposed to be at home at that time. So I checked, and it was the bear," Richardson shared to CBS 58. "You can see him going from room to room, as comfortable as I am in my house."
"It's very hard to believe," she added. "My mom made me some lasagna, I left it in the freezer, and the bear just, you know, took it."
According to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP), this bear joins a list of approximately 70 other bears that have broken into homes in Connecticut this year.
DEEP has previously issued warnings about habituated bears, which are bears that have lost their natural fear of humans due to exposure to human-sourced foods and trash, including bird food and pet food, leading them to seek refuge inside residences.
To mitigate potential bear encounters, DEEP advises Connecticut residents to refrain from feeding bears intentionally or accidentally, and remove birdfeeders and bird food from late March through November.
They also advise storing garbage in secure, airtight containers within enclosed storage areas, maintaining clean barbecue grills, avoiding leaving pet food outdoors, supervising pets when they are outside, abstaining from placing meat scraps and sweet foods in compost piles, and never approaching bears.
