Video, witness: Asheville apartment residents pulled black bear cubs from tree for selfie
ASHEVILLE — The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission is investigating after a group of people were caught on video pulling two bear cubs from a tree to take a selfie at Berrington Village Apartments in Asheville on April 16.
In a video obtained by the Citizen Times, four people are trying to grab the black bear cubs, which are perched on a tree branch extending over a short fence to the apartment property. One woman successfully snatches a cub and holds it under the belly, screaming in excitement.
After apparently taking pictures holding the cub, an animal shrieking noise is heard, and the bear is seen dropping to the ground. The cub then runs along the inside of the fence and tries to climb the fence a couple of times while the woman chases after it.
In a press release April 18, the wildlife commission stated a bear cub bit one of the people during the interaction.
Rachel Staudt, a resident of Asheville for four years, said she was walking around her apartment complex around 3 p.m. when she saw what was happening and decided to record it.
“I tried telling them to stop, but they wouldn't listen so I thought recording it might help get justice for the sweet bear cub,” Staudt told the Citizen Times April 18. “I'm not sure how long it went on for, but far too long.”
Staudt said she has seen bears near the apartment complex before, but people usually “have enough common sense” to leave them alone.
After recording the video, Staudt told maintenance for the apartment complex, which then called law enforcement. The Buncombe County Sheriff’s Office was the first on scene in response, and they contacted the enforcement side of the wildlife commission, according to Ashely Hobbs, a special projects biologist with N.C. WRC.
When Hobbs arrived, one bear cub was wet, cold and alone, sitting in a retention pond at the apartment complex. Hobbs said it must have been there for a while and was “obviously a bit traumatized.” In the later-released news alert, Hobbs said the cub was "favoring one of its front paws."
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“The other cub, we weren’t able to find, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing because usually this time of year, moms will kind of stick their cubs in a safe place like a tree,” Hobbs said. “She’ll go and forage and then come back for them, which could be several hours later.”
“It’s not uncommon to get calls this time of year about cubs being alone, but certainly, we don’t usually have people go out and start pulling them out of trees to take selfies with them.”
Hobbs said the cub is at the Appalachian Wildlife Refuge in Candler, one of two rehab facilities for bears in the state. The commission will continue to monitor the area for a few days.
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A staff member was able to identify the apartment residents in the video, and Hobbs went to “make sure they didn’t bring the cub into the apartment or feed it at any time.” She also said they had a stern conversation about just how dangerous it is to interact with cubs like they did.
“Everyone was in a dangerous situation here,” Hobbs said.
If the mother bear is around, she could try to protect her cubs, which could put the people in danger, Hobbs said. If an adult bear is in a position where it needs to defend itself, that presents a danger to the bear. And if the cub is separated from its mother, it could die because it’s orphaned, Hobbs added.
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The wildlife commission is investigating the incident to determine if any citations, fines or charges should be filed based on county laws, state laws and the commission’s own regulations. Spokesperson Aaron Sarver with the Buncombe County Sheriff's Office confirmed that a patrol deputy responded initially, but the sheriff's office is not investigating.
Hobbs did emphasize that it is illegal to disturb a bear den in North Carolina under state law, and that is part of the investigation into “this whole fiasco,” as she put it.
“I think there’s a high chance of a good outcome here,” Hobbs said regarding the cub. “There’s a high chance that it’ll be just fine, and we’ll be able to release it eventually.”
The public should contact NCWRC if they suspect they’ve encountered an orphaned bear cub. If you believe a cub has been orphaned, do not attempt to capture it. Instead, give the mother plenty of room and time to reconnect with her cub. To avoid harming yourself or the bear cub:
Do not handle it.
Do not attempt to catch it.
Do not remove it.
Do not feed it.
Do take note of your location and call the NC Wildlife Helpline (866-318-2401). If after hours or on weekends, call a district wildlife biologist to report it.
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Bear safety tips
Hobbs urged residents to follow the safety tips from BearWise, a national educational program developed by bear biologists and employed by the N.C. Wildlife Commission. These include:
Never feed or approach a bear.
Secure food, garbage and recycling.
Remove bird feeders when bears are active.
Never leave pet food outdoors.
Clean and store grills.
Alert neighbors to bear activity.
For instructions on how to use bear spray and more guidelines on how to handle black bear encounters, visit bearwise.org.
This story will be updated.
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville residents pulled black bear cubs from tree to take selfie
