Tom Cotter awoke one morning in Whittier, Alaska, to find that a grizzly bear had torn into his precious convertible in a quest for a package of Fig Newtons that were left in the vehicle.
After the incident happened, anecdotal stories started popping up in the media about the bear with the ultimate sweet tooth that wouldn’t give up — even mauling a cobra, albeit a 1965 Shelby Cobra, to cure its jonesing for the elusive cookies.
“Tom Cotter, the host of Barn Find Hunter on Hagerty , was road tripping through Alaska with his 1965 289 Shelby Cobra. He awoke one morning to find his Shelby had been ripped open by a bear in search of some Fig Newtons,” as Autoblog recounted.
Even though grizzly bears are actually in the order Carnivora, they are actually omnivores that dine on things such as insects, plant life, fish, and other things that squeal. Apparently, the occasional sweets fit this bill.
Tom Cotter probably wasn’t laughing at the mayhem he found that cold morning because the Cobra’s vinyl convertible top was original.
Cotter had placed the top up on the car because the group he was with could only leave the Alaskan town through a train tunnel, reports Fox News . Rocks have been observed falling from the tunnel, so he had put up the convertible top for protection.
The Shelby Cobra had been parked overnight with the tempting treats inside, and it was just enough time for the grizzly bear to wander by and see — or smell — them.
According to reports, the grizzly bear mauled the vintage top, leaving a gaping hole. The bear also managed to put some dents in the Cobra’s rear fender and dirty it with a few bear tracks. On top of the problem of the mauled convertible top, the clutch went out on the vehicle, too.
Of all the damage risks when parking your treasured #classic vehicle outside, being mauled by a grizzly bear probably isn’t high on your list. This poor #Shelby Cobra suffered said fate anyway ??
— AutoClassics (@autoclassicscom) July 27, 2018
In the meantime, Tom Cotter is borrowing an airplane hanger to perform the needed repairs on his car. One good thing was the Shelby Cobra’s interior was still intact when he found it.
It’s amusing to note that grizzly bears often find their ways into cars, as evidenced in the video below.
Some of the grizzly bears even find themselves in a predicament where they can’t get out. Then emergency crews and the authorities have to step in and help them escape.