Bear cub returned to the wild after being harassed by locals in North Carolina

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — A bear cub, one of two pulled from a tree as a person posed for a photo, has been returned to the wild, according to North Carolina wildlife officials.

The bear was released last month in an undisclosed, remote mountain area in western North Carolina, the state’s Wildlife Resources Commission announced Wednesday. A brief video of the release shows the cub bounding out of a carrier toward the camera on a small road, before spinning around and racing into the woods. The staffer who released her then fired a noise-maker meant to maintain a fear of humans.

Commission staff in April responded to a report of people harassing bear cubs at an Asheville apartment complex. Officials were told the two cubs escaped after one bit a person, according to a commission news release. Video the commission posted online showed people pulling cubs from a tree. One person could also be seen posing for a photo while holding one of the wild animals. After a loud screech, the person dropped the cub, who ran for a nearby fence.

One cub was found later in a retention pond, wet and shivering, officials said. Ashley Hobbs, the commission’s coordinator for BearWise, a program aimed at helping people “live responsibly with black bears,” captured the cub and described her as “lethargic and frightened” and favoring one of her paws. That cub was taken to a rehabilitation facility, but the second cub was never found, officials said.

The commission investigated the incident, but no charges were filed.

Once staff determined that the cub was healthy and could survive in the wild, she was fitted with a tracking collar and given identifying tags and marks before being released last month, officials said in a news release on Wednesday.

Data from the bear’s collar showed she was adjusting well to life in the wild, Hobbs said in the release.

“Like most rehabilitated black bear cubs, we expect this cub to follow its instincts this winter and identify an appropriate location to den,” Hobbs said. “Bear cubs are resilient animals, and it looks like this cub won’t be an exception.”

Commission wildlife biologists say when cubs are seen alone, mother bears are often foraging nearby. They warn that trying to catch a cub could inadvertently separate it from its mother or injure the cub.