NICHOLAS COUNTY, WV (WOWK) – The principal at Zela Elementary School in Nicholas County got quite a surprise while checking the dumpster this morning.

According to security footage posted by the Nicholas County Board of Education, Zela Elementary School Principal James Marsh was unlatching the lid of a dumpster outside the school around 7:15 a.m. Monday, May 1. As he removed the latch, the lid began to move and a black bear came out of the dumpster!

The video shows Marsh dart away from the dumpster as he spots the bear. The bear then immediately runs in the opposite direction around a shed and toward a wooded area.

“Who says principals don’t deserve hazard pay????” the Nicholas County BOE said in a Facebook post accompanying the video.

There is no word at this time how the bear ended up in the dumpster. WOWK 13 News has reached out to the school board to learn more details about the incident.