Burgling bears: Videos capture black bears trying to open doors in North Carolina community
By Kelly Doty
Click here for updates on this story
ASHEVILLE, North Carolina (WLOS) — People living in one Asheville community may want to ensure their doors stay locked after a couple of viewers shared videos of black bears trying to get into their homes.
Eva Cogburn and Debbie Ellison — both of Riceville — shared three security videos, each showing a bear trying to open the door to their homes with varying degrees of success.
Cogburn shared two videos — one from October 2022 and another from July 2021. In the 2021 video, the bear appears to use its mouth to try the door handle and then walks away when it doesn’t open.
Security footage shows a black bear trying to open the door of a home in the Riceville community of Asheville, North Carolina, in July 2021. (Credit: Eva Cogburn)
The video from 2022 shows a bear on its hind legs pawing at the door handle a few times before giving up.
Security footage shows a black bear trying to open the door of a home in the Riceville community of Asheville, North Carolina, in October of 2022. (Credit: Eva Cogburn)
Ellison’s video, shared on Nov. 3, 2022, is the most recent and alarming example of attempted bear burglary. She said she was watching TV when she suddenly heard the storm door open.
The video shows a bear rearing up on its hind legs and successfully pulling open a storm door. Holding the glass door open, the bear then appears to use its free paw to try the door handle without any luck.
Security footage shows a black bear opening the storm door of a home in the Riceville community of Asheville, North Carolina, in November 2022. (Credit: Debbie Ellison)
It tries the knob of a second door before sauntering away.
“Thank God the kitchen door was locked or he would have come right in,” Ellison said.
You can share your wildlife photos and video with us through Chime In.
Please note: This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.
