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Grin and Bear It: 500-Pound Candy Bandit Strikes Gas Station Repeatedly

A bear stands in a store aisle, surrounded by shelves stocked with various products.

It sounds like the beginning of a bad joke. A store clerk at a gas station in California is working the graveyard shift, and a bear walks in. The store worker came face to face with a 500-pound bear with a massive, sweet tooth.

A bear is walking inside a convenience store, near a vending machine and shelves.

Luckily, this clerk had bear experience and knew how to get them out the door. It did not come back again on that night. The store clerk explains that he has to chase this bear off at least once or twice a night. He wanted to get that bear out of there before he trashed the whole store. That was one night.

However, the bear became rather aggressive and downright demanding on another night. The bear lunged at the man, and the man decided to let the bear have whatever it wanted. The bear has an appetite that can only be satisfied with snickers, as the animal grabs a bag of the famous chocolate bars and leaves.

A bear is standing on its hind legs inside a store, surrounded by shelves of snacks and products.

The bear wanders into the store on another night as a different graveyard worker is behind the counter. The bear waltzes in and eats an entire bag of Three Musketeers. The cashier has difficulty getting the bear out of the store and calls for help. When the authorities come, the bear grabs his final snack and heads for the road.

A black cat walks through a convenience store aisle, surrounded by snacks and a fruit basket.

The visits end when The California Department of Fish and Wildlife comes to take the bear and release it back into the wild. The trouble at the store ends, and customers feel safe to come in again.