A family in Northern California is asking for the "bare necessities" after a black bear managed to get inside their Subaru, where it became trapped and tried to escape.
Amanda Wells, a resident of Forest Ranch, about 100 miles from Sacramento, shared a GoFundMe page, in which she said a bear broke into her car on the night of May 1 and "got locked in," after it ripped the interior of the car to shreds, including the steering wheel.
"I really am not one to ask for help, but we could really use it right now," Wells said on the donation page. "Funds had been pretty tight so we weren't able to make our insurance payment, and it got canceled so we unfortunately have no way to get reimbursement for the totaled car."
Video footage from the incident shows the bear prowling around the home before becoming stuck inside the family's Subaru. In the aftermath of the incident, the car's damaged interior included a steering wheel in tatters, a cracked windshield, and broken interior panels.
Wells told social media newswire Storyful the bear was stuck in the car for almost two and a half hours before her husband shot the driver's window with a pellet gun so the bear could get out.
"The bear was getting tired and hot, and we were worried he might die in the car," said Wells.
The GoFundMe page, which has a goal of $3,000, had raised $2,190 as of May 7.
Wells explained on the donation page that she recently started working again after being a stay-at-home parent while her children were not of school age.
"With that being said, me not having a car is really going to hurt us as well as make it impossible to get my kids to school or anywhere else," Wells said, adding all donations will go towards the purchase of a new car.
While black bears are found throughout much of California, they are more abundant in the North Coast and Cascade regions, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). These wild animals can be found in a variety of habitats, such as forests, grasslands, deserts, and the urban-wildland interface. With human-bear conflict on the rise, wildlife agencies are advising all residents to be more "BearWise" and take "reasonable corrective measures" to avoid encounters.
Measures include securing food, garbage and any other food items that are likely to attract bears.
"If a black bear becomes habituated to humans or food-conditioned, they may become increasingly bold or destructive," CDFW says.
The National Park Service, meanwhile, suggests keeping the following things in mind if you encounter a bear:
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.