Man and Bear Cub Startle Each Other in CCTV Video: 'Scared'

A North Carolina resident was left terrified after a close encounter with a bear cub.

However, judging from the black bear cub's reaction, the feeling was definitely mutual.

Footage of their bizarre encounter was captured on a Ring security camera outside a property in Asheville. The clip was subsequently shared with Newsweek.

"I was heading out to ride my bike when I saw a mother bear and two cubs walking across our yard, so I stopped to film them," Morris, the man in the video, told Ring. "Unbeknownst to me, there was a third cub who had lagged behind the others. As I was filming, I felt something brush against my leg and looked down to see a good sized bear cub next to me."

Bear sightings are common in North Carolina. According to the University of North Carolina Charlotte Urban Institute, the state is home to an estimated 15,000 black bears. That number has risen significantly over the past 30 years, at an annual estimated rate of 6 percent.

Morris had seen his fair share of black bears in and around the area he lives, but never anything quite like this.

"I live in the mountains in Asheville, North Carolina, where black bears are common, and I've had bear encounters before where I've come with five or six feet of one, but I never came into physical contact with one until that day," he said.

Filmed in August, the clip shows Morris heading out of his house to get a closer look at the bears he had just seen pass his property. He had no idea a third cub was lagging behind.

In the clip, he can be seen emerging into view, trying to catch up with the bears. Morris doesn't see the cub close behind him at first, but moments after the cub passes, he appears startled and quickly dashes off inside.

The cub was similarly shocked to encounter a human and beat a hasty retreat in the opposite direction.

Explaining his reaction, Morris told Ring: "I know that a mother bear will do whatever she has to do to protect her cubs, so I was more concerned about her than I was about the cub, who was really quite cute."

Watching the footage back, he admits: "It's hard to tell in the video who the incident scared more, me or the cub."

However, he's impressed at how quickly he was able to get away. "I just turned 65 and, as the video shows, I can still move pretty fast when I have to," he said.

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