Black bear breaks into California library, raids staff snacks and eats a jar of honey

A library in California in the United States had a visitor on Wednesday worthy of a storybook. A black bear wandered inside, reportedly raided the staff snacks and helped itself to a jar of honey. The incident happened on the very day marking 100 years since the publication of Winnie-the-Pooh.

The bear walked into the Mammoth Lakes branch of Mono County Free Libraries at about 6.10am on Wednesday, more than four hours ahead of its 10am opening time. The library director, Josef Bopp, told local news outlet KMPH about the visit.

The outlet reported that the bear raided the staff snack supply. There it ate peanut butter, peach cups, cookies and a jar of honey. After eating, it wandered through the library.

After its snack, the bear went toward the new releases section and the reference desk. After wandering for a while, it made its way back outside on its own. It met no reader while inside, because the library had not yet opened.

The Mono County office of education issued a statement on Wednesday. The statement included surveillance camera video showing the bear strolling through the library, sniffing books, a chair and the ground on the way.

In its statement, the office said the Mammoth Lakes library had a special visitor that morning before the doors opened for patrons. Jokingly, it said it could only assume the new visitor was looking for a copy of Winnie-the-Pooh, published 100 years ago that day.

Library director Josef Bopp also had a reminder for the unexpected visitor. He said that while they love an enthusiastic patron and understand the excitement of the centennial, they remind patrons, and perhaps more importantly bears, that snacks are not part of the circulating collection.

Winnie-the-Pooh was written by A A Milne and illustrated by E H Shepard. The book chronicles the adventures of the honey-loving bear and his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood, including Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, Rabbit, Owl, Kanga and Roo.

The book was inspired in part by a teddy bear owned by Milne's son, Christopher Robin, as well as a real-life black bear named Winnipeg at London Zoo. The book and three sequels have remained childhood favourites for generations. Many were also introduced to the characters when the Walt Disney Company adapted Milne's creations for film and television.

To celebrate the original Winnie-the-Pooh book's 100th anniversary, Mono County Free Libraries encouraged residents to visit any of its seven branches to borrow a copy of Milne's classic or other bear-themed books. The library system has more than 180,000 physical titles, along with additional online resources.

Despite the storybook-like encounter, officials reminded residents that black bears are wild animals and should never be approached or fed. They also urged people to use bear-proof trash containers and keep car doors and windows closed.