Outdoorsy family watches in horror as hungry black bear and 4 CUBS climb into their white SUV

By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2026-08-01 03:20:42 | Updated at 2026-08-01 19:55:13 17 hours ago

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By WILL POTTER, US SENIOR NEWS REPORTER

Published: 03:43 BST, 1 August 2026 | Updated: 03:43 BST, 1 August 2026

Stunning footage captured the moment a family watched on as a momma black bear and her four cubs clambered through their SUV. 

Video shared by Holly Lindsey showed the family of bears tearing apart her car from outside their vacation cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee on July 27. 

Lindsey told ABC7 that her family had just finished unloading their bags at the vacation home when they spotted the bears stalking their cabin. 

To the family's amazement, one of the bears was able to open the driver's side door, as she was heard in the video: 'Oh my goodness... how did it open the door?' 

'Oh my god, they're all in the car,' Lindsey's family could be heard saying, as her children laughed and screamed.  

Lindsey said one of her children had left ice in a cup inside the vehicle which attracted the attention of one of the cubs, which first made its way into the SUV. 

Soon after, the cub was followed by the rest of the bears, which crawled through the front and back of the vehicle. 

The footage went viral across social media as Lindsey's family's stunned reaction delighted viewers. 

Stunning footage captured the moment a family watched on as a momma black bear and her four cubs clambered through their SUV outside a vacation cabin in Gatlinburg, Tennessee on July 27

Holiday-goer Holly Lindsey said her family had just finished unpacking their luggage when the bears descended on their car, and one of the bears was able to open their car door 

'Oh my god, they're all in the car,' Lindsey's family could be heard saying, as her children laughed and screamed

Lindsey said while the encounter was a 'shock', her family were safe and said it was the highlight of their trip

Lindsey shared the footage to Facebook, and wrote that her family had only been at the Gatlinburg cabin for around 30 minutes before the bears arrived. 

'An experience of a lifetime,' Lindsey wrote in her post. 

She said that the SUV was her personal car and not a rental, but said the bears thankfully did not leave extensive damage. 

'Just left paw prints everywhere,' she wrote.

Lindsey told ABC7 that while the encounter was a 'shock', her family were safe and said it was the highlight of their trip. 

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