Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers:
Question: I’m reaching out regarding the Aug. 10 bear incident in my Beaverdam neighborhood area of Asheville, in which a Beaverdam area resident shot an adult female black bear that was trying to enter her home. This story has caused a lot of heated discussion with contentious neighbors against neighbors on Nextdoor. Along the way, we learned additional disturbing information that led up to the shooting, which was not fully transparent from the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission from the get-go. From what we know, the mama bear with her cubs had repeatedly tried to enter this resident’s home on four different occasions. Upon investigation, the home was found to be following Bear Wise standards, and did not have attractants. The evening of the shooting, the mama bear went crazy trying to get into the home, and did not respond to hazing efforts from inside. Obviously, the homeowner was scared. However, we did not learn until days later that the reason why the mother bear went so crazy the evening of the 10th is because NCWRC had captured three of her four cubs, ages 7-8 months, outside of the homeowners’ back door the day or morning before the woman shot the bear. No wonder the bear went crazy. NCWRC neglected to tell that part of the story up front, and made it sound like the mother bear was “Cocaine Bear” or something. They also made it sound like the woman killed the bear. (The reader alleged WRC found the injured bear and shot it, but this is not correct, according to the NCWRC.) Could your newsroom look into this, and confirm through NCWRC records whether the cubs were actually released, and where? Or see if they were transferred to a rehab facility or euthanized after capture?
My answer: Well, this is a heck of a way to start off the week. Not a lot of humor in bear deaths.
Real answer: North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission spokesperson Anna Gurney said the commission did not send out a news release about the incident, but it did “post information on NextDoor as a targeted approach to misinformation that was being posted on that site.”
In a nutshell, the Commission did plan to trap and euthanize the mama bear, as she was exhibiting behavior that was a threat to humans. But before it was able to capture the bear, the resident shot and killed it. The WRC did not kill the adult bear, it said.
The WRC’s statement featured this headline: “Bold Bear Behavior Results in Asheville Resident Killing Adult Female Bear in Self-Defense. Healthy, Self-Sufficient Cubs Released Safely Back into the Wild.”
Here’s the narrative, from the statement: The resident, who lives in the Beaverdam Road area just north of Asheville, contacted the WRC on Aug. 9, “to report an adult, female black bear with four cubs had forced entry through a closed and locked door of their home at least four times within the past week.”
“Upon arrival, Commission staff found no unsecured attractants around the resident’s home and determined the bear was a threat to human safety and should be captured and dispatched,” the statement continued. “Staff placed traps on the property the morning of Aug. 10 and were successful at capturing three of the four cubs over the course of the day, but were unable to trap the female bear that day.
The evening of Aug. 10, the resident contacted the NCWRC to report they had shot an adult, female black bear outside their home in self-defense. The bear was reported to have repeatedly charged at their door while they were attempting to haze the bear from inside the house.”
The commission’s Wildlife Management and Wildlife Enforcement Divisions investigated the shooting and “confirmed the resident’s actions were justified and legal” under state law, the statement said.
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’s BearWise educational program emphasizes that residents should never feed or approach bears, or leave pet food outdoors. Also, they should remove bird feeders when bears are active, clean and store grills, and alert neighbors to bear activity. [Editor’s note: This is not the bear that was killed in the Beaverdam area.] // Photo courtesy of NCWRC
The commission also said it “made the determination to trap and put down the adult bear rather than relocate the adult with its cubs because her behavior was a threat to human safety.”
That sentence may have thrown my reader off about who was responsible for killing the bear, as when I first read it, I also thought it was saying the WRC had trapped and put the bear down. But again, the commission did not kill the adult bear; the resident who shot it did.
“In this case, the adult bear had successfully found food by forcing entry into an occupied home on multiple occasions,” Ashley Hobbs, the commission’s BearWise program coordinator, said in the statement. “If relocated, it’s likely the bear would continue this behavior, posing a significant risk to human safety.”
The commission noted that this kind of behavior can pass on to the cubs, too.
“Once bears are beyond their first year of life, successful, food-seeking behaviors are likely to repeat through adulthood,” according to the statement. “Research has shown that relocated, adult bears tend to repeat problem behaviors in their new location or they attempt to return to the place they were originally captured and continue the behavior.”
Gurney confirmed via email that even if the commission had captured the adult female bear before the resident legally shot it, it would not have relocated the adult bear.
“The NCWRC would have euthanized the bear had we captured her,” Gurney said. “The NCWRC does not relocate adult bears. Research, including a recent study done by the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, has shown that relocated adult bears do not stay in the area where they are released. This bear would have returned to the same location and continued with the dangerous behavior it was exhibiting.”
Gurney said the adult bear had forced entry into the resident’s home “on multiple occasions and had tried to enter the home on two other occasions but was scared off by the resident.”
In the statement, Hobbs said the mother bear’s escalated behavior was “likely the result of unsecured attractants within the community.”
The commission’s BearWise educational program emphasizes that residents should never feed or approach bears, or leave pet food outdoors. Also, they should remove bird feeders when bears are active, clean and store grills, and alert neighbors to bear activity.
“The intentional feeding of bears and wildlife feeding of any kind, including bird feeders, puts people, pets and bears at risk,” Hobbs said. “It’s also important to secure your garbage can, especially on non-collection days.”
As I noted in a July 28 column, human-bear interactions are on the rise around here, and we have a lot of black bears — 8,000 to 9,000 in western North Carolina, including the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. We’re going to see more of these kinds of encounters.
While it’s certainly sad that the three bear cubs have lost their mother, the commission says the young bears should be fine.
“Bear cubs that are cared for by the two licensed rehabilitators in North Carolina are typically released into the wild from late August to early September when the cubs are seven to eight months old,” the commission’s statement said. “Biologists typically release cubs in early fall due to the availability of natural fall foods, e.g., acorns, fruits and berries.”
Limiting the amount of time that orphaned cubs remain in captivity “greatly improves the outcomes for these cubs to be successful in the wild,” the commission said.
“An examination by biological staff determined the three cubs were healthy, in excellent body condition, and old enough to be on their own,” the statement continued. “Because of this, NCWRC moved the three cubs to a remote area in the mountain region. The cubs are young enough that they likely haven’t learned to seek out homes as a food source and moving them to a remote area will prevent them from repeating this behavior.”
Gurney said Monday that commission staff continue to monitor the area for the remaining cub, but it had not been found yet.
As far as my reader claiming the mama bear went crazy because her cubs had been trapped, Gurney cited the Nextdoor post that said, “prior to traps being deployed, the adult female bear had been very aggressive and threatened human safety,” and had forced entry into the home multiple times.
“To gain entry to the home, the female had torn off the closed and locked back door and the resident had to repair the door at least twice,” the Commission statement said. “The cubs were captured just prior to the female bear being shot, but the female bear knew the cubs were in the trap, as she investigated the trap with the cubs inside.”
When the resident shot the bear, “the bear had left the trap and was charging repeatedly at the resident’s door and the resident feared for their family’s safety due to the other five aggressive incidents,” the statement continued.
The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission issued a news release Monday noting that black bears this time of year enter a phase called “hyperphagia,” meaning they “significantly increase their food consumption to prepare for the colder months when natural food is less available.” Here a black bear is shown feasting on cherries. // Photo by Beverly Meekins, courtesy of NCWRC
I’ll note that I did request the incident report in this case but did not receive it by deadline.
By the way, the Commission put out a news release Monday noting that black bears this time of year enter a phase called “hyperphagia,” meaning they “significantly increase their food consumption to prepare for the colder months when natural food is less available.”
That means they’ll be looking hard — and everywhere — for food.
For bear issues, contact the NCWRC’s Wildlife Helpline 866-318-2401, from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday.
Question: I live on Spivey Mountain, and there is a proposed county park to be built on top, with an incredible view of downtown. Hiking trails, parking, restrooms, etc. There is always a lot of traffic on this dead end road. I believe that there are multiple construction projects going on further up the mountain, and Dover Crane, which is practically my neighbor, stores some of its vehicles up on top. The last I heard was that the funding for the project was nearing completion — grants and county funding. I’d love to hear if any clearing has started, if funding is complete, what might be the schedule for there to be a park up there.
My answer: Maybe this should be a very large bear park. I think they need the space.
Real answer: I sent this question to the county a couple of weeks ago, but it looks like they were waiting to announce it via news release, which they did Friday.
That release states that the Buncombe County Parks & Recreation Department has received official notice of a $4.5 million award from the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Grants program, which the county will use for land acquisition.
“In combination with the Land and Water Fund award recently secured by the Southern Appalachians Highlands Conservancy, this grant provides the necessary resources to move forward with the purchase of Deaverview Mountain [AKA Spivey Mountain] for preservation and development as a Buncombe County public park,” the county said in the release.
According to its webpage, the N.C. Division of Parks and Recreation administers the Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership Program. It’s part of a “nationally competitive grant program that provides matching grants to create outdoor recreation spaces and reinvigorate existing parks in underserved urban communities.” The National Park Service awards the grants.
“Deaverview Mountain will be one of the largest parks in our community — second only to the proposed 1,600-acre Pisgah View State Park,” Buncombe County Parks & Recreation Director Allison Dains said in the release. “It will be preserved not only for its natural beauty and significant ecosystem, but also as a space for outdoor recreation, environmental education, and connection with nature.”
The most recent grant will come before the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners for formal acceptance later this month.
“The final steps of the acquisition process, which include due diligence, closing, and planning public access, will be completed in partnership with SAHC,” the release states. “Once the land is acquired, staff will move forward with design and planning work, which will guide the development of facilities, trails, and public amenities that balance recreation and conservation goals.”
On its website, SAHC noted in late 2023 that it was awarded $4.37 million toward the conservation of Deaverview Mountain from funds allocated by the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.
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