Black bear crashes birthday party, eats all the cakes

A bear fell through a couple’s skylight as they were preparing for their infant son’s birthday party and chowed down on their cupcakes.

Glenn Merrill described the chaos of the surreal scene he witnessed in his home in Juneau, Alaska. "I was literally in the room, and I heard this cracking," he said. "And the next thing you know, there's this bear that, I mean, literally, fell right from (the skylight). It was like one metre away from me."

Merrill ran into another room and locked the door. His partner, Alicia Bishop, said the bear feasted on her son's birthday cupcakes.

Bishop opened a door from the living room that led to the backyard and the couple yelled at the bear until it strolled out of their home.

The bear, believed to have been a young male, may have simply been a nosy neighbour.

"Bears are extremely curious and will stake out any source of food they can find," says Ryan Scott of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Police officers in Juneau killed the young male bear, as it posed a threat to human life.

"We don't take killing or destroying bears lightly," said Scott. "People were inside that building. I think it was appropriate for that given the situation."