Hotel workers in Montana were shocked to find an unexpected guest in the women’s restroom: a black bear.
Buck’s T-4 Lodge and Restaurant, adjacent to a national forest, isn’t a stranger to wildlife, but co-owner and general manager David O’Conner told Fox News that a “bear stuck in the bathroom” was a first for the lodge. According to him, two employees working the front desk spotted the bear outside near the bathroom window.
They went outside to check on the situation and at first couldn’t find the bear, but saw the bathroom window was open. When they got back inside, they heard a commotion in the bathroom and were able to figure out what happened.
Fortunately, nobody was in the bathroom at the time. Also, due to the design, the bear was unable to open the door and the window was too high for it to get back out. They contacted the hotel’s management, who attempted to let the bear out on its own.
Unfortunately, the animal seemed content to just hang out on the bathroom’s sink counter. So, they called Fish, Wildlife & Parks to remove the animal. The closest person qualified to remove the bear was a few hours away, however, so everyone had to wait.
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O’Conner said that while guests were concerned, they were also interested as “wildlife is a big reason why people come to the area.”
When the warden finally arrived, the bear was quickly tranquilized and taken away to be tagged. Nobody was injured during the incident, although the bathroom window and counter sustained minor damage that the hotel was able to fix the next day.
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According to O’Conner, he was impressed with how the authorities kept everyone (including the bear) safe while also allowing the guests to see what was going on and educate them on how to handle a situation like this. “For a lot of guests, this will be the closest they get to a bear and it might be the only time they see one.”
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While the bear’s exact age is unknown, O’Conner said they believed it was still young and had only recently ventured away from its mother.