A bear wandered into a Fry’s grocery store in Oro Valley early Monday morning.
About 6:30 a.m., the bear walked through the sliding glass doors of the store near North First Avenue and North Oracle Road.
It browsed through the produce section, then turned its attention to a selection of tobacco products.
A video of the incident posted on Facebook by photographer Charlie Alolkoy was widely shared Monday on social media.
Bear makes quick stop at Oro Valley grocery store
“From what I understand, the description I’ve got, it was kind of banging at the door because it was glass, not knowing where they where, and then it opened and just went in,” said Officer Darren Wright, a spokesman for Oro Valley police. “I don’t know how much damage or anything or it did, we’re still evaluating that, but it kind of ran around the store quite a bit.”
A black bear wandered into an Oro Valley grocery store early Monday, leaving on its own after a quick run through the aisles.
“It was in the produce section for a while. We were kind of laughing because it was at the cigarette-tobacco counter for a little,” he said. “We were like, ‘we must be dealing with a delinquent bear.’”
The bear has been spotted recently in Oro Valley. He was in the area of North Woodburne Avenue Friday, and was seen hanging out in a wash Saturday.
“It was kind of just running around, you know. It’s an environment it’s unfamiliar with, so it was kind of skittish and scared and running around trying to figure out how to deal with it,” Wright said.
The black bear is likely a juvenile, said Mark Frieberg, a spokesman for Arizona Game and Fish. He said unless the bear poses a risk to people, it is likely to be relocated rather than put down. “We’ll have to cross that bridge when we get there,” Friedberg said.
After fewer than five minutes in Fry’s, the bear left the store through the sliding glass doors.
It was spotted behind a nearby Chipotle before scampering into the desert.
