A black bear smashed through the side of a house the US while trying to escape after breaking in.
Police in Colorado shared pictures of the damage caused by the bear which had snuck into the home while its owners were away.
Officers said they believed the bear had been attracted by the smell of rubbish.
Police made the warning after bears were reported to have broken into 35 vehicles and nine houses in just 10 days earlier this month.
Estes Park Police Department wrote on Facebook : "For your safety, and the lives of these bears, please close and lock all windows and doors to your house and vehicles.
"Make it a routine to check everything is closed up before you go to bed or leave the house to do errands.
"Some of these vehicles were clean of any attractants (not even a crumb), and multiple cars in the same area.
"This shows that some individual bears are so habituated to receiving food from vehicles that some are going car to car seeing if they are unlocked, even if they don’t see or smell food.
"Please do your part to keep bears wild. Bears are extremely smart, which means we all have to be too.
"Sometimes it’s literally as easy as a push of a button or flick of a lock.
"Please report any human-bear conflicts to CPW.
"These reports help us wildlife officers do proactive patrols and identifying high conflict areas where officers can provide directed education to residents and visitors and help prevent bears from becoming habituated to human-derived food sources."
