Small bear makes mess in Alaska grocery store

KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) -- Some shoppers in Ketchikan got treated to Alaska's version of a bear market last weekend.

The Ketchikan Daily News reports a small black bear cub walked in the front door of Tatsuda's IGA. The scared animal found its way to a produce cooler, where it made a mess.

Meat department manager Joe Stollar responded to the PA announcement with a net because he misheard the announcement to say there was a bird in the store.

Authorities suspect it was an orphaned bear since its mother wasn't nearby. Stollar says the tiny bear was just scared and trying to hide.

A customer captured the bear, and it was sent out the store's back door into the woods.

Several thousand dollars of ruined produce was donated to a livestock owner.

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