FAIRMONT, W.Va. — It wasn’t a prank, but a bear surprised a West Virginia homeowner by ringing his doorbell on Monday night.
Dustin Smith, of Fairmont, posted a video on his Facebook page, showing the animal ambling onto his porch, WBOY-TV reported.
“Last night we were a victim of the good old fashioned ding dong ditch, but this time it wasn’t being performed by a teenager,” Smith wrote.
The timestamp on the video shows that the bear walked onto the porch shortly after 11 p.m. EDT on Monday, according to WBOY.
The bear can be seen getting on its hind legs and leaning against the doorbell, which began to ring. The startled bear grunted, and when dogs began barking inside the home, the animal turned and fled from the porch, WBOY reported.
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Monday’s incident is the latest encounter between bears and humans in West Virginia. On May 2, a surveillance camera captured an unexpected meeting in Summersville between a bear and Zela Elementary School Principal James Marsh, who had opened a school dumpster.