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In a disturbing incident caught on camera, a group of people at Berrington Village Apartments attempted to remove bear cubs from a tree. Why, you may wonder? Well, to take photos with them, of course! No, I’m not kidding, and I’m as frustrated as you are.
The video shows the group pulling the cubs from the tree and posing for pictures. To make things worse, one of our Instagram star wannabes dropped a cub, and the poor baby started running and trying to get back over the fence.
Ashley Hobbs, a biologist with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, commented on the incident. “An apartment complex in the Fairview area that officer did ask me to assist him in response to that, so I did get on site and I saw the cub,” she told the ABC 13 News. She added that the poor animal was very wet and cold and had been alone for quite some time. “We did see the video in response to the bear being left alone,” Hobbs said. “We do think that the bear probably had a pretty traumatic experience.”
Thankfully, the lone cub found by wildlife officials is recovering in a rehabilitation facility and will hopefully be released back into the wild.
Educating the public
Hobbs expressed her frustration with the situation. “We did follow up with the people who pulled the bear out of the tree,” Hobbs told ABC 13 News. “We did confront them on site that day and let them know how irresponsible and potentially deadly it could be for that cub to be separated from its mom, especially ripped out of a tree like that.”
“It is frustrating to see people be that irresponsible around wildlife because it is a blessing that we get to live in the mountains around these creatures.”
Hobbs also addressed the potential dangers of the encounter. The mother bear could have attacked to protect her cubs, or the cubs could have been separated, hindering their chances of survival.
Jody Williams, founder of Help Asheville Bears, echoed Hobbs’ concerns. He highlighted the importance of education and respecting wildlife.
“All for a selfie, all for a selfie,” he said, adding that this is “just ignorance, total selfishness,” and “not what we talk about when we talk about coexisting.”
Still, on a brighter note, Hobbs said it’s not this common for people to interfere with wildlife this aggressively. She hopes that this would serve as an opportunity for education… And I sincerely hope that these Insta-jerks at least paid a hefty fine!
[via PetaPixel]
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