The bears of North Carolina are getting smarter. Three black bears were caught working together to take down a bird feeder posted along a mountain road.
Caught on tape, it begins with one bear standing on its hind legs to reach the feeder. It pushes the red and white feeder down a tree branch. The task proved to be too difficult for the bear. It seemed as if all hope had been lost, and the bear would return home to his bear-wife and kids without any dinner. But like a good neighbor, more bears were there. Two more black bears appeared on the scene to help weigh the branch down so that the first can more effectively remove the bird feeder. During this entire ordeal, a fourth, much larger bear can be seen across the road. This is what urban hoodlums commonly refer to as a “lookout.”
No word on whether or not the first bear knew the others. The odds of these bears owing the first a life-debt seems unlikely, but I’ve not known that many of them to be so altruistic before. We have reached out to the bears, though they declined for comment.
In actuality, the three bears appear to be cubs, with the mother watching over them. Interactions like this aren’t uncommon, and with an increase in reported bear sightings in the area as of late, it’s best to be careful. If you live or camp in the Charlotte area, keep an eye out when near the woods.