A man in Asheville, NC, came face-to-face with a black bear cub, and they both left running.
A Ring camera captured the encounter in the man’s front yard.
The man, identified as Morris, says he was heading out for a bike ride when he spotted a mother bear and two cubs across the way. Morris began to film the bears but didn’t know there was a third cub who walked right into him.
“I just turned 65 and, as the video shows, I can still move pretty fast when I have to,” Morris told Ring, who provided the video. “It’s hard to tell in the video who the incident scared more, me or the cub.”
Morris says he’s used to seeing black bears because they are common in the area. He says he knows mother bears will do what is needed to protect their young. So, Morris was more worried about her than the tiny bear beside him.
Wildlife experts say black bears are rarely aggressive. The animals’ instincts are to run and climb a tree from a perceived threat. While there are few aggressive encounters with black bears, the documented incidents usually involve male bears, not females.
Here’s more on what to do if you encounter a black bear on a hike.
