KEY POINTS
- A man in North Carolina had a close encounter with a black bear while relaxing outside his home.
- The moment was caught on the man's doorbell camera.
- Black bear sightings in North Carolina are becoming more common due to urban sprawl, but attacks are rare.
This is the moment a United States man's chill-out session took a "frightening" turn.
David Oppenheimer, from North Carolina, was lounging on a chair outside his home when a black bear wandered over.
The scene, captured on Mr Oppenheimer's doorbell camera, shows him jumping and clutching his pillow after noticing the large, furry creature, which stopped in its tracks and appeared to look just as startled as he was.
The pair stared at each other for a few seconds, then the bear turned and ran off.
The 11 April encounter came as black bears in North Carolina emerge from their hibernation dens, which the state's Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) says usually occurs in March or early April. Its advice for close-range black bear encounters is to back away slowly and make lots of noise.
Mr Oppenheimer that while he was unsure how the bear would react, it did not appear to be threatening.
“It didn’t really seem threatening, it was almost more puzzled,” Mr Oppenheimer said.
"I was trying just to stay calm, but I was definitely frightened.”
He told the media outlet that while bear sightings were common in his neighbourhood, attacks were not.
“The bears in this neighbourhood do not really attack people, but I thought, being this close and in this unusual situation there’s that unknown,” he said.
“In the moment I was just thinking, ‘I’m not supposed to look at it in the eyes, but it’s looking right at me.’”
Black bears are found across 60 per cent of North Carolina, according to the NCWRC, which said in a press release last year that sightings were becoming more common because of urban sprawl.
Another North Carolina resident in March of a black bear helping itself to a box of bagels, cream cheese and salmon that had been delivered while she was out.
One woman also shared footage of a bear that had ended up inside her car.
According to the NCWRC "black bears, by nature, are not aggressive animals" and they "peacefully coexist" in proximity to humans year-round.
