Goofy bear scales to the top of fragile tree — and photo inspires jokes in NC town

One of North Carolina’s black bears is getting ribbed on social media after it was photographed sitting precariously atop an extremely fragile tree.

It happened Aug. 3 on Allen Mountain Drive in Black Mountain, and police say they spotted the bear while responding to a residential alarm.

The bear sat just outside the home’s property line, so it could not be accused of trespassing, police say. However, it clearly looked guilty of something.

“He’s apparently not the brightest bear in the trees!” police wrote. “He was given a stern warning and told to move on.”

The department posted photos of the bear on Facebook, resulting in hundreds of reactions and comments — many poking fun at the bear’s tree-picking skills.

Not only did the tree offer little cover, but also the bear couldn’t get more than 10 feet up before running out of limbs, police say.

“Out of all those lush trees, this is the one he chose to climb?” Lori Jackson Pisani posted on Facebook.

“Looks like a peeping Tom!” CindyTim Carter wrote.

“Our squirrels around here keep getting bigger and bigger,” Keith Thomson said.

As for what became of the bear, the site was built into the side of a mountain, and police allowed the bear to drift back into the surrounding forest.

Black Mountain is about 110 miles northwest of Charlotte.

This story was originally published August 7, 2023 at 10:58 AM with the headline "Goofy bear scales to the top of fragile tree — and photo inspires jokes in NC town."