Video Captures School Principal Running When Bear Pops Out of Dumpster

A West Virginia school principal got quite a scare when a large black bear popped out of a dumpster as he unlocked it. To the delight of the school’s students, the event was caught on camera.

According to KTVU, James Marsh, the principal of Zela Elementary, was unlocking the dumpster when the bear popped out. He had seen a bear wandering around earlier and, as a precaution, decided to lock the dumpster.

Later on, surveillance footage shows Marsh unlocking the dumpster and the bear poking its head out right in front of him. Startled, Marsh runs away, while the bear hops out of the dumpster and takes off in another direction.

"I think the bear was as scared of the principal as the principal was the bear," Donna Burge-Tetrick, superintendent of the school district, told KTVU.

She said it appears in the footage that the bear had been able to enter and exit the dumpster even while it was locked.

"You put trash in a dumpster, but you don't expect anything to come out!" Marsh said. "It all happened so fast… I am glad that nobody got hurt, and I can laugh about it now! For my students' and staff safety though, I would prefer this bear find his meals elsewhere."