Bear opens car door to find food in Tennessee

May 18 (UPI) -- Security cameras at a Tennessee rental cabin captured the moment a curious bear opened a car door to look for snacks inside.

Lourienne Long, who owns vacation cabins in Gatlinburg, said she is warning renters to keep their car doors locked after her security cameras recorded the clever bear opening an unlocked car door.

"They had some cups in there," Long told WATE-TV. "I don't know if they were chugging them and then throwing them out, but we just saw all these cups on the side of the car."

She said the car owner was lucky the bear only left a few scratches on the vehicle.

"They are lucky that the door stayed open because if it would have shut ... I mean they figured out how to open the door but not necessarily from the inside how to get out," Long said.

Long said she is now leaving new instructions for renters to help them avoid unwanted bear encounters.

"Now that I know that the bears know how to clearly open the handle, I'll tell everybody not to keep any drinks or food in the car and lock the doors," she said.