Black Bear Sneaks Up Within Inches Of Oblivious Kid In Colorado

Bears will go after any food they can get their paws on. Even if the paws - or hands - of another creature have already laid claim to the grub. The Schmela family found that out the scary way just a few weeks ago when a bag of open kettle corn accidentally put a child in danger in Aspen, Colorado. Little did they know, a bruin in the area apparently love the smell of sweet-and-savory snack. Rachel and Rob Schmela's son, Evan, was sitting in the backyard fire pit area (it's a sweet set up) of a family member's home. The young kid was eating on a large bag of kettle corn that the family had just purchased from Aspen Farmers Market, not aware that a black bear was on the scent and making its way closer and closer. As you'll see in the video, the black bear got within a foot of the kid just before the members of the family that were close by (possibly inside the house) noticed and started making loud noises to chase the bear away. When the bruin was startled, it immediately took off back into the woods, and Evan took the opportunity to grab his big ol' bag of popcorn and run into the house. Rachel Schmela told FOX31 Denver that she could barely move when she saw the bear that close to her son: "I was frozen for a couple of seconds. I didn't know what to do. Luckily, Rob and his brother kind of jumped into action sooner than I did and they knew just to make some loud noise and that would scare the bear." It was definitely a little too close for comfort, but thankfully the quick thinking of Rob Schmela and his brother helped scare the black bear away and keep everyone safe. The news story below notes that wildlife officials are warning residents in bear country that "Fat Bear Fall" is on its way, meaning that bears will be extra hungry and looking for food anywhere and anyway they can get it. I find it kind of weird that I'm also entering into a season where I'll be consuming more food than normal, but I think for humans, that's just called "Football Season." But it's nice to know that I have something in common with bears, and I'm in full support of the bruins in their effort to get fat this fall. Just as long as it doesn't mean putting kids in danger like this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5jiZNr4hKIA