A pair’s anniversary getaway took a wild flip when a bear strolled into a Gatlinburg tea store and started rummaging through merchandise before instantly leaping onto the counter in a startling encounter caught on video.

The couple, Victoria Puyol and Joshua Card, were visiting Gatlinburg to have fun their seventh anniversary when they stopped at The Spice & Tea Exchange on Friday, which is where Card noticed an surprising customer close to the entrance.

“There’s a bear,” Card recalled saying.

At first, Puyol said she didn’t fairly course of what was taking place, but when Card and the retailer clerk repeated themselves, she turned and saw the animal standing in the doorway.

The couple recalled steering to back away from bears, but as they stepped away, the bear ventured farther into the retailer. The clerk directed them behind the register, where they had entry to an emergency exit.

The curious intruder appeared significantly in the store’s stock, tearing into a sweet-tea mix and investigating tea diffusers as a crowd gathered outside.

An worker from a neighboring retailer sounded an air horn, the couple said, but it appeared to have little impact on the bear.

A pair’s anniversary journey to Gatlinburg turned wild when a bear busted into a tea store in Gatlinburg, Tenn. Victoria Puyol and Joshua Card

Card started recording as the bear approached the counter.

“Hey, what you doing there, buddy?” Card can be heard saying in the video.

The bear then turned and jumped onto the counter, prompting Card to step backward.

Joshua Card filmed the encounter as the bear, which he first thought was a “show bear,” explored the store for 10 to quarter-hour. Victoria Puyol and Joshua Card

“He’s talking to this thing like it’s a puppy,” Puyol recalled. “It’s a bear. It’s not a puppy. It’s a bear.”

Card said he initially thought the animal might have been a “show bear” on a leash with a handler close by because they were in such a populated space. He shortly realized it was a wild bear.

Card, a navy veteran who also has expertise as a lifeguard, said his background dealing with emergency conditions helped form his response. He described feeling unsure about what the younger animal was succesful of and whether he should intervene or merely give it house.

Victoria Puyol had repeatedly advised Card before the journey that she hoped to see a bear during their anniversary getaway. Fox News

“This didn’t really feel like an emergency,” Card said. “It felt unpredictable to me.”

Card said the bear appeared more curious than aggressive.

“He didn’t really seem threatened,” he said. “Even when he jumped up on the counter, I was like, okay, well, I’m going to take a step back.”

Puyol said she was more shocked than frightened.

Shop workers revealed the bear was a repeat offender, having snagged sugar earlier in the week. Victoria Puyol and Joshua Card

“I wasn’t scared,” she said. “I was just shocked.”

“I wasn’t like, ‘Oh my God, it’s a bear, I’m going to die,’” she continued. “No, it was like, there’s a wild animal, like eight feet away from me.”

Adding to the irony, Puyol said she had repeatedly advised Card before the journey that she hoped to see a bear during their anniversary getaway.

“Be careful what you wish for because I wanted to see a bear, not that up close and personal,” she said.

The clerk ultimately advised the couple about another exit through the second flooring, but the bear instantly ran out before they wanted to use it. Card and the clerk then shut the door and waited to make certain it was protected before leaving.

Puyol estimated the whole encounter lasted roughly 10 to quarter-hour.

The couple said retailer workers advised them the bear appeared to be a repeat customer and had entered the enterprise earlier in the week.

The store also posted a picture of a bear earlier in the week with the caption, “This young bear came into our shop today, snagged some sugar and came back for more!”

Now that they made it out safely, the couple said the encounter made for an anniversary they will never overlook.

“The trip has been filled with oddities, and so this just kind of … fuels that whole experience,” Card said.