‘He roared a little bit’: Young black bear spotted around Morganton

MORGANTON, N.C. — A busy local shopping area had an unusual visitor on Monday after shoppers spotted a black bear around Morganton.

The same bear was also see roaming through a nearby apartment complex and even a fast-food restaurant.

The young bear could be seen near the dumpsters of a Bojangles before climbing a tree.

Public safety officers said that in the past week, they’ve received four calls about the bear.

Jonathan Cook showed Channel 9 reporter Dave Faherty cellphone video he took of the approximately 125-pound animal along Highway 64.

He was in the drive-through at Bojangles waiting on his food when he learned there was a black bear just feet from his car.

“Somebody got a little too close to him and he roared a little bit -- made you jump back a little bit,” he said.

The bear ended up at the Glenwood Hills apartment complex, where more than a half-dozen residents said the animal came out shortly after lunchtime.

“I swear the thing was five feet away from the window,” said resident, Tyler Frye. “And at first, I was like, ‘Are you sure it’s not a dog or something?’ And she said, ‘Look, Tyler, it’s a bear,’ and I was like, ‘No way.’”

“It was just minding its own business,” said another neighbor, Joy Baldwin. “It was just walking and sniffing the ground. I think it was probably looking for food.”

Public safety officers believe the bear may be a cub that’s wandered off from its mother. They’re asking people not to leave food out, to secure trash cans and put up their bird feeders in the hopes it will move out of town.

“It looked bigger up close than when you see it in the tree,” Frye said.

Police have told residents that they can’t relocate the bear and they’re asking people not to approach the animal.

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