Current:Home > reviewsGroup caught on camera pulling bear cubs from tree to take pictures with them -×
Group caught on camera pulling bear cubs from tree to take pictures with them
View
Date:2025-04-18 15:48:03
A group of people was recorded pulling two bear cubs from a tree in North Carolina on Tuesday afternoon, apparently to take pictures with the animals and leaving one orphaned and potentially injured in the process. In an unsettling video taken by onlooker Rachel Staudt, the group of around five people is seen approaching a tree lining the fence of an apartment complex in Asheville, where the two small cubs are perched on branches.
At first, the cubs are partially obscured by the foliage. But, as the group gets closer to the tree, a few of the individuals reach directly through the leaves to grab hold of the bears and begin to tug until each animal loses its grip on the branch to which it was clinging. Someone manages to yank one of the cubs away sooner than the other. That person ends up holding the cub as if it were a small child, petting it with one hand, posing and smiling while another member of the group appears to snap a picture.
Later, one of the two cubs seems to temporarily free itself and dart out from the area around the tree where the group has gathered. The cub runs over to the fence, stands up on its back legs, briefly changes direction and tries again before another individual comes up behind it and seemingly gestures to catch it.
Ashley Hobbs, a special projects biologist at the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, responded after receiving a report that several people were pulling cubs from a tree to take selfies, she told CBS News in a statement. The agency's enforcement division has opened an investigation into the incident.
Hobbs arrived to find the group of people still around, with only one of the two cubs present and sitting in a retention pond on the apartment complex property. It was lethargic, limping and had a low body temperature, she said. The other cub was no longer on the premises.
"I confronted the offending people while at the apartment complex and explained the danger of approaching and handling wildlife," Hobbs said in the statement, noting specifically that attempting to handle bear cubs can pose serious threats to both the humans and animals involved.
"There's always a chance that the mother is nearby and may attempt to defend her cubs," she said. "It also endangers the bear cubs. Handling a bear cub poses a risk of injuring that cub and increases the chance it will become separated from its mother."
Wildlife experts, including Hobbs, say the importance of leaving be any wild animal instead of interfering. Even in situations where a bear cub or another animal seems to be orphaned or hurt, "leave the animal alone and contact your state wildlife agency for assistance," Hobbs said.
The cub was transported to the Appalachian Wildlife Refuge Center, a rehabilitation facility in nearby Candler, where, Hobbs said, it is now recovering well. She told CBS News that the cub will remain in the facility's care until it is old enough to be released into the wild. Bear cubs cannot survive on their own, so the refuge center will wait until the cub is a subadult — a range of ages between 4 and 6 years old where bears become independent of their mothers despite not yet being technically mature.
- In:
- North Carolina
- Bear
Emily Mae Czachor is a reporter and news editor at CBSNews.com. She covers breaking news, often focusing on crime and extreme weather. Emily Mae has previously written for outlets including the Los Angeles Times, BuzzFeed and Newsweek.
Twitter InstagramveryGood! (7321)
Related
- 'Squid Game' without subtitles? Duolingo, Netflix encourage fans to learn Korean
- 'Believe that': The Arizona Diamondbacks may be the best team in baseball
- College Football season is about to kick off. Here are our record projections for every team
- X's initial shareholder list unveiled: Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Jack Dorsey, Bill Ackman tied to platform
- Paris Hilton, Nicole Richie return for an 'Encore,' reminisce about 'The Simple Life'
- Georgia man who accused NBA star Dwight Howard of sexual assault drops suit
- Viral video captures bottlenose dolphins rocketing high through the air: Watch
- AP Decision Notes: What to expect in Oklahoma’s state primary runoff elections
- Rolling Loud 2024: Lineup, how to stream the world's largest hip hop music festival
- Bears’ Douglas Coleman III immobilized, taken from field on stretcher after tackle against Chiefs
Ranking
- Trump's 'stop
- 'Prehistoric' relative of sharks struggle to make a comeback near Florida
- Convicted drug dealer whose sentence was commuted by Trump charged with domestic violence
- New Federal Report Details More of 2023’s Extreme Climate Conditions
- Woman dies after Singapore family of 3 gets into accident in Taiwan
- Methamphetamine disguised as shipment of watermelons seized at US-Mexico border in San Diego
- Indianapolis man convicted in road rage shooting that killed man returning home from work
- A 2nd ex-Memphis officer accused in the fatal beating of Tyre Nichols is changing his plea
Recommendation
Could your smelly farts help science?
Chicago police say they’re ready for final day of protests at DNC following night of no arrests
Excavator buried under rocks at Massachusetts quarry prompts emergency response
Powdr to sell Vermont’s Killington, the largest mountain resort in New England
Former Danish minister for Greenland discusses Trump's push to acquire island
See Gisele Bündchen's Sweet Message to Tom Brady's Son Jack
Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz to serve one-game suspension for recruiting violation
Georgia man who accused NBA star Dwight Howard of sexual assault drops suit