Bear roaming at night leads to unusual ‘ding dong ditch’ in West Virginia, video shows
A curious late-night visitor rang a porch’s doorbell and walked away. It had four legs, West Virginia video shows.
It turns out, the guest responsible for the unusual “ding dong ditch” prank was a bear.
“We were a victim of the good old fashioned ding dong ditch, but this time it wasn’t being performed by a teenager,” Facebook user Dustin Smith wrote May 9.
It was a bear, which was seen roaming around a porch before it used a front paw to reach up to the doorbell. After it made a sound, the animal bolted away, according to video that Smith shared on social media.
Smith said it happened late May 8 in the Fairmont area, roughly 20 miles southwest of West Virginia University’s main campus in Morgantown. The bear footage rattled some Facebook users, with many commenting that the situation was “scary.”
Black bears are found across West Virginia, with males growing to 300 pounds on average. Though the animals typically keep their distance from people, it’s best to avoid feeding them to reduce the chances of encounters, according to the National Park Service and the West Virginia Department of Commerce.
If you spot a bear, experts say you should back off and try to stay calm.
Smith didn’t immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on May 10.
This isn’t the first time someone has gotten a surprise four-legged visitor.
A bear in New York opened a home’s door with its teeth, while another video showed one grabbing a Chick-fil-A delivery off a front porch in Florida, McClatchy News previously reported.
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