With warm temperatures, longer days, and abundant sunshine, summer is in full swing across the country. That means people are spending more time outdoors—camping, swimming, vacationing, and of course—eating.
In many areas, it also brings out wildlife searching for food. Among them: bears. This time of year tends to show increased bear activity, and they have been spotted just about everywhere these days. In fact, one particular dumpster at a campground in Lake Harmony, Pennsylvania got quite the visitor this week.
A bystander captured video of the enormous black bear climbing his way out of a dumpster and shared the footage as an Instagram Reel.
The video, uploaded by user @rayd147, opens with the torso of a very large black bear sticking out of an open dumpster. The bear has a large bag of trash hanging from his mouth, and his front paws are carefully perched over the front of the dumpster.
With the grace of a gymnast, the bear begins the most careful climb out of the garbage container, lifting his back end until he’s standing atop the dumpster, while never letting go of his treasured bag of trash. After a few seconds of careful balancing, the bear turns his body and starts his descent, ever so gingerly climbing down the side with his back legs, while continuing to hold on to his find.
Eventually, the bear makes it out without so much as spilling an item or tearing the bag. Unfortunately for him, as he drags his garbage bag across the concrete parking lot, it rips open and spills most of the contents before he reaches the woods. The comment is spot on with: “The bag did not cooperate!!😨😭.”
Viewers couldn’t get over how deliberate and graceful this bear was as he found his way back to the pavement. “The way he knows how to turn around and go down backwards 😆,” one commented. “He was so diligent aiming where the next foot would need to go,” another noticed.
Other viewers brought jokes: “Bearly got a bag lunch today…” one chortled. “Just making a mess – Bears are no different from my kids or husband 🤷🏻♀️😂,” another compared the bear’s scattered mess to their own family.
Another viewer felt seen: “Me at 2 am with a crave case from White Castle,” comparing the determined bear to their own late-night fast-food runs
Why Bears Love Dumpsters in Summer
Black bears aren’t picky eaters. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, they have an incredible sense of smell and use it to sniff out food. They are opportunistic eaters and will always take advantage of an easy meal—including garbage. Once a bear discovers a reliable food source like an accessible trash can or dumpster, it’s likely to return. To prevent human-bear conflicts, storing trash indoors, securing receptacles, and never leaving food unattended in bear-heavy areas are recommended.
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Related: Connecticut Bear Gets Caught Taking Out the Trash Like He Pays the Bills
This story was originally published by PetHelpful on Aug 3, 2026, where it first appeared in the Pet News section. Add PetHelpful as a Preferred Source by clicking here.