Candler cat’s close encounter with a bear caught on camera
By Kelly Doty
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BUNCOMBE COUNTY, North Carolina (WLOS) — One North Carolina cat may have lost one of its nine lives after a close encounter with two bears just before Thanksgiving.
Rachelle McKinnon shared security camera footage of the incident at her Candler home.
The video shows a bear wandering onto the porch early Wednesday morning, Nov. 22. The bear sniffs around before approaching what appears to be a small dog house.
As the bear bends down to sniff the house, a cat bursts out, startling the bear. The cat jumps onto the porch railing and watches as a second bear joins the scene.
After rummaging around the dog house, the first bear wanders away, leaving the cat unharmed.
North Carolina’s black bear population has boomed over the last decade. Buncombe County is a known hot spot for bear activity. Calls to the statewide Wildlife Helpline from Buncombe County reflect the same trend, with about 400 bear-related calls in 2017 to more than 700 in 2022.
State wildlife officials encourage residents to become “BearWise” to co-exist with the bears safely.
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