The wait is over: Young black bear checks out of Rex Hospital in Raleigh
It took some patience — plus some jelly donuts and sardines — but a young black bear who spent a day up a tree at Rex Hospital in Raleigh finally came down early Wednesday morning.
Once the bear came down for its snack, it quickly ran off. The bear is not considered a threat.
The bear was spotted by hospital employees early Tuesday morning, and after consulting with North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, Raleigh police and animal control decided to wait out the bear and let it come down on its own.
The bear was camped out in a tree in a section of the hospital parking lot facing Blue Ridge Road.
Greg Batts, the District 3 wildlife biologist for the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, told The News & Observer on Tuesday that the bear would likely come down when it got dark and there were fewer people and less traffic.
“This is usually the case: someone sees (the bear), it gets scared and runs up a tree, and then people crowd around and they don’t want to come down,” Batts said.
In a situation like this, when a bear does eventually come down, Batts said the ideal situation would be for it to wander off on its own.
Batts said NC Wildlife held training for police departments several years ago that advised police to keep people out of the way until a bear comes down, and when the bear comes down, let the bear go without any sort of escorting.
‘This animal isn’t dangerous, it’s scared’
Batts said there’s no reason to be afraid of the bear.
“A lot of people are very scared of bears,” Batts said. “But I would say this animal isn’t dangerous, it’s scared. It wants out of town as badly as the people in Raleigh want it out of town.”
The NC Wildlife website says that, “black bears, by nature, are not aggressive animals. They peacefully coexist in close proximity to humans year-round throughout North Carolina. The presence of bears in these new areas should not be immediately viewed as cause for alarm or fear.”
In a statement on Tuesday, UNC Rex said: “The bear is not seen as a threat to employees, patients or visitors, but everyone is urged to be aware of the situation and pay attention to any closed-off areas. UNC Rex appreciates the work of Raleigh Police and Animal Control, which is working to remove the bear safely, and as quickly as possible.”
Why are there bears in Raleigh?
This is at least the third time young black bears have been spotted in Raleigh in the past few months. In May, a black bear was spotted in a neighborhood near the Elks Lodge on Lead Mine Road, and another was seen in Raleigh’s Village District, near Oberlin Road.
According to wildlife experts, most North Carolina black bears live in the eastern part of the state, in the NC mountain areas, or up nearer Virginia. When we see them in this area, they are typically just passing through.
Bear sightings are especially common during the months of May through July, says NC Wildlife.
And just because the bear we see looks small, that doesn’t mean it’s a baby with an angry mama nearby.
“These are juvenile bears, around a year to a year and a half old, that have been recently kicked out by their mothers and are looking for a place to live,” said Batts. “They usually wander in from the eastern part of the state.”
Roland Kays, a scientist at the NC Museum of Natural Sciences, told The News & Observer in a previous report that “every year there are some teenagers who go looking for territory and they wander the wrong way and if there are no girl bears there, they just keep going.”
