Kitchen trashed by bear cub searching for food

Home-owner Phil Volk and his family from Arizona, USA, were shocked to find a bear cub in their kitchen, searching for a midnight feast.

The family were woken during the night by something noisily ruffling around in the kitchen cupboards downstairs. Upon investigation, they discovered a hungry bear had entered the house via an open window and was trashing the room in search of food.

The cub ran away shortly after with a full belly, leaving the family in need of a stock-up at the supermarket.

Mr Volk said: "It pulled the lid off a chocolate cake on the counter and finished that off. It tipped the trash and went through the contents of that. It got into the pantry for chips, bread, jelly beans - it was total disarray - he ate very well."

After alerting the authorities, the bear cub was found and picked up by the Arizona Game and Fish Department. Due to its age, the bear has been transferred to the Heritage Park Zoo for the foreseeable future, as it is too young to survive on its own in the wild.

The Game and Fish Department said: "Remember, bears have an incredibly keen sense of smell even from long distances and human food is very attractive to them."