West Virginia Principal 'Bearly' Keeps It Together During Surprise Encounter With Dumpster-Diving Bear
A West Virginia elementary school principal got more than he bargained for this week when he went to check on the school's dumpster and encountered a black bear that had apparently been rummaging around for a meal.
Thankfully, the bear seemed just as startled, and neither man nor bear were harmed in the incident.
The video footage, which was initially posted to the Facebook page of the Nicholas County Board of Education in Summersville on Tuesday, shows the principal attempting to remove a lock bar from the dumpster when the bear suddenly jumps out. In a twist of irony, the bar had actually been intended to keep bears out of the trash—but a lot of good that seemed to do.
"Who says principals don't deserve hazard pay????" a cheeky caption on the video read. At the time of this writing, the video has been viewed more than 80,000 times.
It's unclear how the creature managed to get past the lock bar into the dumpster, but this seems like just one more reason why you can never underestimate a hungry bear.
For what it's worth, the principal later told reporters that he "likes bears but prefers them at a distance," and "hopes the animal at least got a good meal." His dry cleaning bill, on the other hand, may not have been as fortunate.
