Photo submitted to Times Observer The inside of a Toyota Camry that was ripped apart by a black bear that trapped itself inside.

A black bear can do a lot of damage when it gets stuck somewhere.

Thomas and Cathy Gibson of Neilltown, Forest County, found out Sunday night what an adult bear can do to the inside of a 2010 Toyota Camry.

The bear paid two visits to the Gibson property and vehicles just south of Southwest Township Sunday night and Monday morning.

The first time, “the dog ran him off,” Thomas Gibson said.

There were three spots of mud inside the car and prints on the outside of the windows. Nothing serious, but enough to make a call to a surprised insurance agent.

Just why a black bear, Gibson estimated its weight at 300 pounds, would open a car door and crawl inside, is unclear.

According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, food is the usual culprit when bears encroach on human spaces. “We all transport food,” Game Commissioner Regional Education and Information Supervisor Regis Senko said. “A bear has a real heightened sense of smell.”

Gibson said there was no food in the vehicle, but said he does not know why else the bear would have been so intent on gaining access.

After that visit at about 8:30 p.m. Gibson poured a gallon of bleach on the ground around the car, hoping that would discourage the creature through its sensitive sense of smell.

The Gibsons had been through a lot and turned in at about 10 p.m.

The bleach didn’t work. At some point, “That bear came back,” he said.

The dog was barking at something outside the window at about 2:30 a.m.

Gibson saw the windows of the car fogged up. As he watched, he saw that the bear was back in the car.

He’s looking right at me over the steering wheel,” he said.

Somehow the door had closed behind the bear.

Gibson called 911. The operator could hear the horn going off as the bear stepped and sat on it, he said. “I just wanted someone to help me open the door.”

The bear wanted out, too.

Photos of the vehicle show the dash, door panels, seats and head rests ripped apart. “You’ve never seen a car so tore up,” he said.

In addition to damage from teeth and claws, there was impact damage. “The doors were bent out,” Gibson said. “He was ramming them. When he hit that, it sounded like a gun going off.”

The animal eventually escaped. Gibson said he believes the arrival of state police in the driveway

Gibson said he spoke with the same insurance representative the second time, reporting the new and more extensive damages.

The vehicle was taken away and has apparently been a very popular attraction. “There’ve been hundreds of people looking at it,” he said.

The story is not over for the Gibsons.

“We’re still going through it,” Gibson said. “I’ve been a wreck ever since.” He is concerned the bear will return and try to get into the residence.

There is a live trap set near the Gibson’s property. The animal has not been declared a nuisance bear, but it makes sense to move it. “If we can catch the bear and pull him out of there, that’d be great,” Senko said.

The game commission has experience with bears in vehicles. Senko said one crawled through an open window of a Wildlife Conservation Officer’s vehicle to get at donuts that were to be used as bear bait. The bear got back out the same way.

But having a bear trapped in a vehicle is new.

Senko offered some advice for those who would rather have a bear try to get into a vehicle than succeed in getting in.

“Make sure your windows are up and your doors are locked,” Senko said.