Ring camera captures hilarious moment bear spooks man relaxing on his sun lounger
Look who went to the woods today! Ring camera captures hilarious moment when a bear startles North Carolina man as he relaxes on his lounger
- A man in North Carolina was startled when a black bear appeared in front of him
- After an encounter where the two stared at each other, the bear hurried away
This is the hilarious moment when a black bear wandered into a North Carolina man’s backyard and startled him as he relaxed on a lounge chair.
David Oppenheimer was lying outside his home in Ashville in the Blue Ridge Mountains Tuesday night when he heard his doorbell alarm go off and turned to see a bear right in front of him.
“I looked behind me and saw nothing,” Oppenheimer said CNN“But about a minute later, the bear came by and was practically in front of me.”
The two stare into each other’s eyes for a few seconds, seemingly momentarily startled, before the bear scrambles away in the direction it came from.
David Oppenheimer was relaxing on his front porch Tuesday night when a black bear suddenly appeared, leaving him paralyzed with fear
“My eyeballs are definitely stretched,” Oppenheimer said.
He said bears are known to roam the area and generally do no harm.
“The bears here are very peaceful,” he told CNN. “This one just caught me off guard.”
Though Oppenheimer looked baffled, the bear is no stranger to his front porch. Oppenheimer has captured several images of bears walking through his carport where the camera and lounger are set up.
With other cameras, he also captured raccoons scrambling over his house and foraging for food from his bird feeders.
There are estimated to be about 23,000 black bears in North Carolina — the largest population among a handful of other states, including Alaska, Maine, California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Wisconsin.
Oppenheimer said bears are known to roam the area around his home in Ashville, North Carolina, but generally do no harm
On previous occasions and using different cameras, Oppenheimer has collected other images of black bears around his home. This image shows a bear eating from its bird feeder
In the photo, a black bear passes the spot where he was spoken to on Tuesday
As North Carolina’s human and bear populations increase, so do the interactions, but more often than not they are harmless.
They tend to be shy around humans, and according to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, there has never been an unprovoked bear attack in the state.
Nevertheless, it advises caution when dealing with black bears, particularly by not leaving litter outside or feeding them.
Black bears are also known to be attracted to leftover grease on barbecue grills, so it is also recommended that grills be thoroughly cleaned.