Thirsty Wild Bear Caught On Camera Gulping Down Bottled Ice Tea Drink

A video of a wild bear drinking a sugary beverage at a garbage dump in northwestern Ontario is going viral, with viewers amazed at the bear’s dexterity.

Shayna Kyla was visiting the local dump in Fort Hope First Nation when she and her friend Peg spotted the black bear chugging down a Brisk Ice Tea.

The bear is seen grabbing the bottle in between its paws and then lifting the bottle up over his head so that he can drink it.

“This made me and Peg laugh,” Kyla wrote in her social media post sharing the video. “I didn’t get to catch the part where he opened the bottle.”

Viewers remarked how clever the bear is, with one commenting, “I’m amazed, like ‘Wow!’ (so) smart.”

This is not the first time a person has captured unusual bear behavior at a landfill. One woman caught a bear having a nap on a discarded mattress.

As amusing as the sight of a bear drinking a soft drink is, it highlights a concerning trend of human activity impacting wildlife behavior. Bears have frequented landfills in Canada for decades, particularly in northern and remote communities. They’re drawn to these sites by the easy access to food. Unfortunately, this can lead to bears becoming habituated to human food, increasing the risk of human-bear conflict, and in turn bears getting killed. One photographer captured a heartbreaking image of a bear at a dump, which is in stark contrast to the images of bears in pristine wilderness.

Improved garbage management and long-term solutions—such as redesigning waste facilities—can help deter bears from seeking out human food sources. Protecting their natural habitat is also essential, ensuring bears have access to wild food in their ecosystems away from people.