Black Bear Casually Opens Car Door, Sends Family Into Fit Of Terror

A family out for a drive got more than they bargained for when a large and curious American black bear casually opened their car door.

A spokeswoman for Yellowstone National Park told The Huffington Post that, contrary to an earlier local news report, the encounter did not happen there, but at Yellowstone Bear World, a drive-through wilderness park in Idaho. "We've never had a report of this in the 21 years I've worked here," Charissa Reid said.

A woman who answered the phone at Yellowstone Bear World said she had no knowledge of the incident and referred HuffPost to a manager. The manager did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In the short video posted to YouTube, a bear is seen walking up to the side of the family's parked vehicle.

“Dad, the bear’s right next to us,” a young boy says in a nervous voice.

The animal then pops up next to the passenger side window, peers in at the man sitting in the front seat and effortlessly opens the door. Terrified screams fill the car as the passenger struggles to get the door closed.

The break-in joins a growing list of bizarre incidents in and around Yellowstone this year.

Last month, Yellowstone officials had to euthanize a newborn bison after well-meaning tourists put the animal into the trunk of their SUV. Just days later, three Canadians faced criminal charges for stomping on the ecologically sensitive grounds of Yellowstone’s legendary Grand Prismatic Spring.

Earlier this month, video surfaced of an elk charging a woman who got too close to the animal in hopes of taking a photograph. And last week, a 23-year-old Oregon man died after falling into one of the park's boiling hot springs.

CORRECTION: This article initially stated that the incident caught on camera occurred at Yellowstone National Park, and has been updated throughout.