Strange Kentucky Home Intruder Bear-ly Got Away With It

Ever have one of those house guests that just moves into your kitchen, sits down and makes himself at home, without ever a how d'you do? One of those annoying sorts that makes a big mess and has to be chased out?

That's what happened to a Kentucky family last week. There's a catch: The guest was a black bear.

A black bear crashed through the ceiling of a home in southeastern Kentucky last week and ended up on top of a stove, state wildlife officials said.
Photos show the furry intruder perched on top of the stove in the kitchen, where a warden and local sheriff's deputy discovered the animal before chasing it from the property through an open door. The incident happened at a Bell County residence last Wednesday at around 5 a.m., according to the law enforcement branch of the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife.
"After taking a look around, it was determined that the bear had climbed up a ladder outside and squeezed through an opening in the attic," the department said in a Facebook post. "The bear then fell through the ceiling into the residence below."

An unintentional entry, perhaps, but the bear was almost certainly drawn by the scent of food:

Wildlife officials also note that black bears are typically elusive and tend to avoid humans unless they have been exposed to sources of human food. That and their curiosity mean seeing bears near places where people live "is relatively common" in parts of Kentucky, the Fish and Wildlife department writes on its website.

According to an X post, the bear almost landed on one of the home's residents.

A black bear crashed through the ceiling of a house in Eastern Kentucky, almost falling on a woman's head before landing in the kitchen, according to a family member. https://t.co/H8v5lI89vS
— WJHL (@WJHL11) May 27, 2025

Most people don't understand just how acute a bear's sense of smell is.

For example, If you order a pizza, when the delivery guy shows up at your door, you smell the pizza.

A bear will smell the different toppings on the pizza; it will smell the crust, the cheese, the sauce, the cardboard of the box, and the ink on the cardboard. It will smell the delivery driver's deodorant and after-shave, the laundry detergent his shirt and pants were washed in, the leather in his shoes, the smell of exhaust from his parked car, the rubber on the tires, and any other pizzas still in the car. Given a moment, the bear may even smell what the driver had for lunch that day.

My grandfather used to quote what he claimed was an old Indian saying: "A tree fell in the woods. The eagle saw it. The deer heard it. The bear smelled it." So if you live in bear country, think on that, and handle food accordingly.

California Woman Killed by Black Bear in State's First Documented Fatal Attack

If you're interested in learning more about bear attacks, I recommend the Stephen Herrero book "Bear Attacks: Their Causes and Avoidance." It's an excellent work by a Professor of Environmental Science and Biology at the University of Calgary (Canada), who has made a lifelong study of bears and their behavior. In that book, the author notes that black bears are actually more likely to attack humans with predatory intent than grizzlies. A grizzly may rush you because you got too close, or because you're near its cubs, near a carcass it has claimed, or because it's just having a bad day. A black bear is more inclined to try to eat you. The prevalent wisdom with griz is to avoid any show of aggression, but to a black bear, make yourself look big, make a lot of noise, and if it attacks, fight.

Fortunately, in Kentucky, none of that was necessary. The bear left, and everyone was OK, other than the bear-caused damage to the house. However, when bears start associating humans with food, it rarely ends well.

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