A black bear entered a shopping mall at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson in Anchorage, Alaska, on Sunday morning. The bear was captured on video walking through the automatic doors of the commissary mall around 9 a.m.
Video footage shows the young bear cub moving through the mall, entering a barber shop, and taking a peach from the grocery section, which it then consumed. Employees of the barber shop, including Kory Godbout, witnessed the bear enter their shop and retreated to a break room for safety.
After exiting the barber shop and consuming the fruit, the bear defecated in the hallway before leaving the building. Officers from Conservation Law Enforcement responded to the incident and guided the animal toward a nearby river and into the woods.
According to JBER's wildlife program manager, Colette Brandt, the bear triggered the automatic doors, and the events were incidental. While bear-related calls have decreased at JBER since the installation of bear-resistant dumpsters, seven bears have been euthanized there in the past year due to public safety concerns.