Bear cub yanked from NC tree for photos is now ‘thriving.’ What’s next for her?

Simone Jasper

May 2, 2024 at 12:06 p.m.·2 min read

A baby bear was found wet and scared after a group pulled her from a tree to take photos, officials said.

But now, the cub seen in the widespread North Carolina video is “thriving” at a rehabilitation facility despite being away from her mom. The rescued animal has been placed with an orphaned cub as she prepares to return to the wild, according to the Appalachian Wildlife Refuge.

“They are eating well and interacting with enrichment, doing all the things we hope to see with young cubs,” Savannah Trantham, executive director of the Candler-based rehab center, said in an April 30 news release. “Our team has no reason to believe that they won’t be released as wild bears in the fall.”

One of the two bears seen in the video is receiving care at a rehab center in North Carolina.

The update comes after a group was caught on camera yanking two bear cubs from a tree in the popular mountain town of Asheville. A person can be seen holding one of the cubs while posing for pictures on April 16, McClatchy News reported.

What happened to the bears?

The group soon released the baby bears, believed to be siblings. No one is expected to be charged in the “isolated” incident, according to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission.

One of the babies later was found at a retention pond, appearing to be “lethargic and frightened.” Her condition likely was due to the group’s “unnecessary and irresponsible actions,” state wildlife officials said in a past news release.

“It looked to be favoring one of its front paws and was wet and shivering,” Ashley Hobbs, the commission’s BearWise coordinator, wrote.

That bear was brought to the safety of the rehab center, but her sibling hasn’t been found. As of May 1, wildlife officials said they continued to look for the second cub grabbed from the tree.

“We do not know whether the mother of these two cubs is alive but have not received any reports of a dead female bear in that area,” commission spokesperson Anna Gurney told McClatchy News in an email. “Since female bears have strong instincts, she may have reunited with the cub that we were unable to locate.”

Black bears are found in the eastern and western parts of North Carolina. People are urged to stay away from cubs, which often have their mothers nearby.

“This case has understandably brought up feelings of frustration, sadness and anger for many viewers, and we hope the act of witnessing these shocking visuals prompts people to reflect on the very real challenges that wildlife face every day,” Trantham said.

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What happened to the bears?

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