Yummy-smelling lip gloss entices bear to demolish inside of car, Colorado photos show

Bears must really like lip gloss.

A hungry bear went searching for food and smelled something enticing inside a Colorado car, wildlife officials said.

Bears know how to open doors, and they can get into unlocked cars when they’re searching for food.

There was no food left inside this specific car, Colorado Parks and Wildlife’s Northeast Region said — “but there was lip gloss.”

“Its scent was enough to entice the bear to check it out,” officials said Sunday, April 24, on Twitter.

The bear ransacked the car’s interior, photos show, leaving the car with its guts spilling out.

The bear ripped through the leather seats, exposing the inside spongy cushion of the passenger and driver seats. It also tore down the sun visors and destroyed the roof of the vehicle.

“Keep unwanted guests out of your cars by locking the doors and removing anything with a scent,” wildlife officials said.

Bears broke into cars 484 times from 2019 to 2020, according to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

Last year, a 200-pound bear got stuck in a Subaru in September and destroyed the inside, McClatchy News previously reported. It was trapped inside until a wildlife officer opened the door just enough to let it out.

A month earlier, a hungry bear broke into at least eight cars in Estes Park looking for food.

“While not all of the vehicles had food or attractants, some bears go from car to car just to see if they’re unlocked, then hope to find food,” wildlife officials said.

Bears’ noses are “100 times more sensitive” than human noses, and they can smell food up to five miles away, Parks and Wildlife said on its website.

They can also seek out trash that smells like food or scented products, such as air fresheners, wipes or perfume. Bears are smart animals and will come back to a location where they’ve found food.

Parks and Wildlife said people in bear country should always lock their windows and doors, both at home and in their cars.

This story was originally published April 25, 2022 at 11:10 AM with the headline "Yummy-smelling lip gloss entices bear to demolish inside of car, Colorado photos show."