A black bear slipped into a military hospital near Anchorage around 2 a.m., found donated Halloween candy, ate its fill, and walked out the same way it came, with nobody hurt.
The animal showed up Monday at the hospital on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson near Anchorage, Alaska, moved through the emergency department, and locked onto a bucket of donated Halloween candy. It ate, then left through the same entrance it used to get inside.
OutKick reported the early-morning visit, citing Alaska's News Source, and noted the date tied to the candy run as Oct. 12. No one was injured.
Sherri Warnke was leaving the hospital after visiting her mother when she spotted the massive animal about 30 feet away in a dimly lit hallway. She did not have a hospital badge, so the doors along the corridor were locked to her.
Warnke slowly backed away and hoped the bear had not noticed her. She made it out safely.
Hospital staff put out an intercom announcement warning everyone that a bear was in the building. Some doctors came out to take pictures.
Staff later showed Warnke a surveillance photo of the bear at the emergency department reception desk. They joked that the animal looked like it was checking in.
That was the whole visit: in through the emergency department, candy raid, photo op at the desk, and out the same door. No capture. No injuries. No drama beyond a wild animal treating a military hospital like an open pantry at 2 a.m.
Bold bears chasing easy calories are not limited to Alaska. In downtown Gatlinburg, Tennessee, a black bear wandered into a store, rummaged through merchandise, and tore into sweet tea before leaving on its own.
The New York Post reported that Victoria Puyol and Joshua Card were at The Spice & Tea Exchange for their seventh anniversary when the bear came in. It tore into a sweet-tea blend, checked out tea diffusers, and jumped onto the counter.
The visit lasted 10 to 15 minutes. An air horn from a neighboring store did little. Card recalled saying, “There’s a bear,” and later told the animal, “Hey, what you doing there, buddy?” The pair got out safely. Store staff said the bear was a repeat visitor that had already taken sugar earlier in the week.
Winter packing behavior is a familiar backdrop for black bears. Easy food still draws them into human spaces, a tea shop counter in Gatlinburg, a candy bucket in an Alaska emergency department.
When bears start treating hospitals and gift shops like self-serve buffets, the people on the ground do the only sensible thing left: back away, lock what they can, and let the animal finish its snack.
