Hitting the sweet spot: bear treats itself to baked goods at Colorado farmers’ market

Bear eats pastries at the Aspen farmers market – loopHitting the sweet spot: bear treats itself to baked goods at Colorado farmers’ marketShoppers and vendors in Aspen surprised by unusual customer as it stretched to sample stall offerings

Farmers’ market shoppers might not usually pay much attention to the local resident devouring fresh bread and pastries at one of the stalls with extra gusto – but some certainly did last weekend when they realized it was a hungry bear.

Onlookers on Saturday reached for their phones to take photos and videos of the bear in downtown Aspen, Colorado, after it wandered through the stalls and got up on to its hind legs to dig into the baked goods.

At one point it jumped up on to the table to get better access to the pastries.

The bear, bulking up for winter hibernation, initially appeared as vendors were setting up their stalls, the Denver Post reported, according to Joey Livingston, a Colorado parks and wildlife (CWI) spokesperson. Livingston told the paper a police officer took steps to scare the bear away from the humans – and the baked goods – while a CWI officer was on the way. The bear climbed a tree and then later left the area.

Bears are particularly active and hungry ahead of hibernation as record drought has reduced food sources, pushing up the numbers of contacts with the public.