Watch a Giant Black Bear Rip Through a Wooden Deck to Attack a Beehive
The bear got stung repeatedly as it devoured a beehive beneath a deck
Well, this is one way to get rid of a beehive. But it’s not any kind of “pest control” I would recommend. In a recent Instagram video, a large black bear is seen destroying someone’s back deck to get at a beehive.
The video was originally posted by Ryan Chadwick. According to the description, it was captured on a property in or near Whistler Alpine Meadows, a neighborhood in the mountains of British Columbia. Fair warning: There is adult language in the footage.
The film begins by showing a bear ripping through wooden deck, making quick work of the sturdy deck boards as it goes. The videographer is standing with a buddy safely behind a screen door. “Holy shit,” says someone in the background. “Is it demo day? This is insane!”
It quickly becomes clear why the bear is wreaking havoc when it starts gulping down what appears to be the larvae of bees, some species of which are known to create nests under wood decks. The bear shakes its head as the bees swarm and sting it—but it’s intent on getting a good meal, regardless of the pain or property damage.
“I told you you should’ve let me kill that beehive,” says one of the guys in the video. “He’s getting all the honey like Pooh Bear! Boy’s gotta eat before winter.”
After eating its fill, the bear casually saunters away. It’s not the first time a black bear has been filmed chowing down on the headquarters of a stinging insect colony. Field & Stream recently reported on a video showing a black bear getting swarmed while chowing down on a wasp nest.
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According to National Geographic, black bears are “very opportunistic feeders,” meaning they try to make meals out of whatever food sources present themselves—including the hives and nests of stinging insects. Black bears are especially active in search of food during the fall when they’re preparing to hibernate.
