VIDEO: Bear opens car door on Sunshine Coast

A family who had recently moved to B.C.’s Sunshine Coast was frightened by what they thought was a vehicle break-in Saturday — only to find whoever was responsible was no criminal at all.

Jen Rollins posted surveillance footage on social media showing a black bear on its hind legs opening the door of the truck outside her home. The bear walks away once the vehicle’s interior lights turn on.

Speaking with CityNews, Rollins says one of her children was first to notice something wasn’t right Sunday morning.

“My daughter woke up in the morning, looked outside and was like, ‘Mom, mom! The truck door is open!'” she said. “I kind of panicked … did the kids leave it open? Did I leave it open?”

Upon further inspection, Rollins realized that nothing was taken from her truck, which prompted her to look back at the footage from her recently installed video cameras.

That’s when she learned who the culprit really was. Rollins says the bear has been seen around her family’s acreage numerous times since they moved in.

“One part of me was peeved and scared, and the other part of me thought it was hilarious. Like, how did this bear just casually open this door?” she said.

Rollins’ family of four moved from Vancouver Island to the property north of Powell River just six weeks ago. She says in that time, her family has had to get used to the wildlife in the area.

She says a bear had also recently torn apart her family’s barbecue in pursuit of the grease tray. Rollins believes this was the same bear who tried to enter her truck.

“We haven’t named him yet, we’re just kind of hoping he goes away,” she joked. “He’s family now.”

Originally from Edmonton, Rollins says she’s dealt with raccoons and coyotes at previous homes, but bears are a different story.

“I used to think that bears were super cute and I always wanted to see bears and it never happened that often. Now, they’re everywhere,” she noted

“I live on the bears’ land. They were here first. We just need to figure out a way to have mutual respect where we just leave each other alone.”

While she admits her recent bear encounters have her sometimes questioning her family’s move, Rollins says neighbours and community members have been helpful in showing her how to cohabitate with the animals.

“We’ll get used to it and we’ll figure it out but it feels a little foreign for me at this moment,” she said.