A bear locked in a truck in Tahoe destroys the inside of it. Photo/EDSO

A South Shore car owner found out the hard way why leaving food in a vehicle is a bad idea.

El Dorado County sheriff’s deputies spent part of April 16 enticing a bruin to leave a vehicle. It did. But left behind was a destroyed interior.

“Another very important reason to lock your vehicles up at night, particularly in bear country, is that bears are very adept at entering unlocked vehicles looking for food. If you are lucky, they will rummage around and leave your car relatively unharmed,” deputies said on the EDSO Facebook page.

The bears are out, having awoken from their winter slumber. And they are looking for food.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report