Video shows people in N.C. pulling bear cubs out of tree to take selfies

Wildlife officials are trying to identify several people in Asheville, N.C., who were seen on video pulling bear cubs from the limbs of a tree in order to take selfies.

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission says the video, recorded Tuesday, shows the group of people at an apartment complex grabbing the cubs from a tree. When wildlife officials arrived, they learned the cubs had escaped after one them bit a person.

One of the cubs was found in a retention pond, but the other cub has not been located. The cub found in the pond was in poor condition, officials say.

“The cub appeared to be lethargic and frightened,” wildlife commission official Ashley Hobbs said in a statement. “It looked to be favoring one of its front paws and was wet and shivering.” The cub is being cared for by a licensed cub rehabilitator, with plans to release it back into the wild later this year.

“The cub’s condition is likely a result of the unnecessary and irresponsible actions of the people involved,” game mammals and surveys supervisor Colleen Olfenbuttel said in a statement.

“Ashley and our enforcement staff searched the area for the second cub but did not locate it. Our hope is it was able to reunite with the mother because it would not survive on its own at this young age,” mountain operations supervisor James Tomberlin said.

Olfenbuttel said the people in the video endangered their own lives by handling the cubs, risking an attack by the mother if it returned. Officials say that bear cubs seen alone rarely are abandoned or injured, and that the mother bear usually is nearby foraging for food.

“Even if you don’t see the mother bear, she could be nearby and the cubs are waiting for her to return,” Olfenbuttel said. “By trying to capture a bear cub, you may cause it to become orphaned, injured or both, as we saw occur in this incident.”

Wildlife officials and the Buncombe County Sheriff’s Department continue to investigate the incident.