B.C. black bear pops in for fast food

It can be hard to resist popping into a fast food restaurant for a quick bite to eat, including it seems, for at least one black bear in B.C.

Rebecca Branton had just opened up a Subway restaurant in the north coast town of Kitimat in the early morning hours of Sept. 15, when her first visitor began sniffing around the front door.

"I was just back there making soup … but I saw the door open and it was a bear," she told CBC News.

The young bear's every move was captured by nine video cameras in the shop, including how it managed to grab the handle of the front door and pull it open.

"I thought he'd used the handicap button, but instead he opened it just like a human," said Branton. 

As the bear sniffed around, checking out the menu choices, Branton fled for the safest room in the store.

"I grabbed my cellphone and ran to the back and locked myself in the bathroom and called my parents," she said.

Meanwhile the furry visitor popped over the counter to have a closer look at the selection of cold cuts, coming within a few metres of the bathroom Branton had locked herself in.

"I could tell that the bear heard me in the bathroom and then jumped back," she said.

Since the staff seemed indisposed, and there was no service to be had, the bear eventually decide to leave, without having a bite to eat. 

It let itself out, using the automatic door opener to swing open the front door.

Unfortunately for the bear, a short time later police tracked it down and decided it had to be shot, since it would likely return and could endanger human lives.

As for Branton, she finished her shift, but not without paying a lot more attention to what kind of customers were walking in the front door.