Black bear forces its way into British Columbia man's car

April 15 (UPI) -- A British Columbia man awoke to find his car had been mangled and enough evidence left behind to identify the culprit -- a bear.

Michael Allison, of Trail, said when he got up, he had received message from his roommate saying something had happened to his car.

Allison went outside and found the metal frame of a back door had been bent and the window shattered.

The inside of the car was filled with scratch marks, and he found other signs that the vehicle had been invaded by a bear.

"We both immediately came to the assumption that it must be the bear because we see it so often. And I mean, what else can just rip the door off like that?" Allison told CTV News.

"There were very obvious bear prints right near where the door was shattered -- and there was also some bear fur."

Allison said there wasn't any food in the car, but some recently-spilled coffee might have drawn the animal in with its smell.

He said the bear most likely was the same black bear seen frequently in his neighborhood.

"It generally avoids people. It just saw an opportunity to rip open a tin can and get some food," Allison said.

Vanessa Ignardy with WildsafeBC said the bear most likely has previous experience with auto burglary.

"Most often, when bears break into things, it's because they've done so successfully in the past and received a food award of some sort," Ignardy said.

Wildlife BC said black bears are most active in the province between April and November.