The morning at the farmers market in Aspen did not begin with coffee.
While the vendors were still laying out their goods, there appeared between the rows a black bear with an unusual light-brown coat.
It strolled through the market quite calmly, peeked in on several vendors — and fairly quickly determined what it was actually interested in.
Bread and pastries.
The bear headed for the Louis Swiss Pastry stand and began eating fresh goods right off the counter. People tried to keep their distance, though of course the phones came out almost immediately.
One of the eyewitnesses later said that the animal was clearly more interested in “carbs and sweets”than in the people gathered around.
Which, perhaps, makes this story especially relatable to a human.
The Aspen Saturday Market has around 75 vendors — there are vegetables, meat, jams, chocolate, wares from local artisans and plenty of other products.
But the bear chose the bakery almost unerringly.
Police quickly arrived on the scene. People were asked to move farther away, and the animal was pushed back from the market. After that the bear climbed a nearby tree, stayed there for a while, and then left on its own. It was not harmed.
The internet especially liked one question:
how could a bear even afford pastries at a farmers market in Aspen?
In the comments, people immediately decided that it was probably a very well-off bear.
But the explanation is simpler: in autumn bears actively put on weight before wintering, and a shortage of natural food can make them come out toward people more often.
Although in this case the choice of location is still impressive.
Out of roughly 75 stalls, the bear went straight to the one where fresh bread was laid out.
Even in the wild they know: carbs first, everything else after. 😄
