ASHEVILLE, N.C. (WLOS) — A Ring camera captured the moment an Asheville man and a bear came face to face, giving each other a scare.
People who've lived in western North Carolina for a while are typically used to coexisting with black bears. However, few get as close of an encounter as David Oppenheimer.
At the end of the day on Tuesday, April 11, Oppenheimer said he was relaxing in a chair in his carport when he heard his Ring camera chime.
Given the prevalence of bears in his neighborhood, he says he looked around to see if one had triggered the camera, but he didn't see one.
A moment later, when he turned to look again, he could "bear-ly" believe his eyes, and the stunning moment was captured on camera.
"It definitely startled me, more because it was unexpected than because it was a bear, and it seems startled, too," Oppenheimer said.
The video shows Oppenheimer lounging in the chair, looking at his phone when the bear wanders into the frame. Both seem unaware of each other's presence. As the bear continues walking through the carport, Oppenheimer finally notices the bear and jerks back in surprise, which startles the bear.
"When it happened, we made eye contact, and I was thinking you're not supposed to make eye contact with a bear, but we were making eye contact, and I wasn't sure what to do next," Oppenheimer recalled of that moment. "I thought to move my eyes to look a little bit away, but I wanted to be prepared to scare the bear if it came at me."The bear looked back at him with ears pointed forward for about three seconds before turning and running away.
Oppenheimer says he's lived in his Asheville home for 15 years and has noticed the bears appearing more frequently and more during daylight hours. He says they're generally peaceful, and the neighborhood has acclimated to living alongside them.
The bear seen in the video is also no stranger. According to Oppenheimer, the same bear had appeared a few times recently, including the morning the video was recorded when it climbed on the deck rail to get to a bear-proof bird feeder.
“It’s very common,” Jody Williams, of Help Asheville Bears, said. “We are known as an urban bear area. However, if people don’t start doing the right thing, this is going to become a bigger problem.”
According to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, the black bear population in Buncombe County and Asheville has been booming in recent years. The statewide Wildlife Hotline received 400 bear-related calls from Buncombe County in 2017. That number grew to more than 700 in 2022.
Williams said, after reviewing the video, he believes the bear was “deck-checking” because of the source of food from the bird feeders.
“Don’t get them used to coming on your deck or in a residential neighborhood where they’ll get up in someone that fears bears,” Williams said.
According to the Wildlife Resources Commission, black bears tend to be shy and non-aggressive toward humans. There has not been an unprovoked bear attack reported in the state.
“That bear does not look at you as food,” Williams said. “It is more scared of you than you are of it.”
Williams urged the public to stay cautious as the peak season of bear run-ins approaches.
The website BearWise has a list of home tips to keep you and your family safe:
- Never feed or approach bears
- Secure food, garbage and recycling
- Remove brid feeders when bears are active
- Never leave pet food outdoors
- Clean and store grills, smokers
- Alert neighbors to bear activity
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