Tag: North Carolina News

Black bear breaks in to 5 Asheville homes, still on loose

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Black bear walking across a mountain cabin porch at dusk

Bears are not an uncommon sight in Western North Carolina, but a burglar bear is a little less common. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has stated that a female bear has been breaking into homes in the Asheville area. Officials believe that she has no fear of people, learned that homes have food for her to eat inside them, and that she poses a threat to humans. “She has learned that all homes have food inside. This bear not only poses a risk to human safety, but she is teaching her cubs the same dangerous and unnatural behavior,” the N.C. WRC said in an update on Sept. 2. N.C. WRC first started tracking the bear on Aug. 18, after a Buncombe County resident encountered a female black bear inside her house and sustained non-life-threatening injuries as the bear attempted to exit the home. Since then, the female bear has tried to break into another four homes. “She is not afraid of people, causing extensive property damage, and has forcibly entered homes of residents that have no evidence of unsecured trash or other unsecured attractants outdoors,” the N.C. WRC said.

Breaking-and-entering black bear in Asheville area

Around 24-hours after her initial break-in on Aug. 18, the bear reportedly broke into a second home and tried to get into another home. The break-ins continued last weekend when the female bear tried to get into two more homes in the Asheville area, N.C. WRC stated. Officials state they know the same bear is the culprit responsible for all the break-ins due to her “distinctive” markings.

Is the bear still on the loose in Asheville?

What will happen to it? The female bear is on the loose. Once she is captured, the bear will be humanely euthanized, officials said. Wildlife officials stated that two of her cubs have been captured. Since the cubs are so young, they have been relocated to an undeveloped area to keep them away from populated areas.

Are black bears dangerous?

What to do if you see a black bear N.C. WRC BearWise warns that while black bears are generally not dangerous and rarely aggressive toward humans, people sharing territory with the animals should do their part to reduce the potential for conflict.

Black bear safety program BearWise recommendations include:

  • Never feed or approach bears. 
  • Secure food, garbage and recycling. 
  • Remove bird feeders when bears are active. 
  • Never leave pet food outdoors. 
  • Clean and store grills and smokers. 
  • Alert neighbors to bear activity.

What you should do if you run into a black bear in Western North Carolina

The National Park Service suggests people do this if they run into a bear:

  • Remain watchful.
  • Do not approach it.
  • Do not allow the bear to approach you.
  • If the bear is at a distance, feeding, or walking by and notices you but continues its natural behavior, no action is needed on your part.
  • Proceed while continuing to observe the bear. If your presence causes the bear to change its behavior (stops feeding, changes its travel direction, watches you, etc.), you are too close.
  • Being too close may provoke aggressive behavior in the bear, such as running toward you, making loud noises, or swatting the ground. The bear is demanding more space. Don’t run, but slowly back away, watching the bear. Increase the distance between you and the bear. The bear will probably do the same.

Source: Black bear breaks in to 5 Asheville homes, still on loose

A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls.
Proverbs 25:28

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Rabid baby goats prompt North Carolina mobile petting zoo scare

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At least three baby goats belonging to a North Carolina petting zoo have tested positive for rabies, prompting state health officials to issue an urgent warning to those who visited the operation’s mobile menagerie since late July. The North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS) said Sunday that tests Friday confirmed that the rabies virus was found in three baby goats. A fourth baby goat was not tested but was assumed to also have been infected, the agency said. The four infected baby goats were euthanized, according to ABC affiliate station WSOC in Charlotte, N.C.

North Carolina health officials said some baby goats from a mobile petting zoo operated by Farm Adventures in Harmony, North Carolina, tested positive for rabies and were euthanized, August 27. 2026 WSOC-TV The animals belonged to Farm Adventures in Harmony, North Carolina, and were part of a traveling petting zoo that made at least 10 stops in six counties since July 28, including one at an assisted living facility and another at a back-to-school event, NCDHHS said in their statement. “Impacted individuals should contact their local health department to determine whether medications are needed to prevent infection,” according to the statement. The goats were most likely exposed to rabies by a skunk that entered an enclosed pen where they were kept in late July, NCDHHS said.

Related Biting rabid beavers prompt partial closure of popular Maryland park The infected baby goats are believed to have been on display at events in Mecklenburg, Iredell, Watauga, Burke, Davie and Durham counties. “Public health officials are working with event organizers to notify attendees who might have had contact with the infected goats at these events,” state health officials said in the statement. An investigation into the rabid goats is continuing, and officials cautioned that “additional information about potential exposure locations at public events will be released when available.” No one has reported being infected by the rabid baby goats, officials said.

Human rabies infections are extremely rare in the United States and no human cases have been reported in North Carolina since 2011, the NCDHHS statement said. Fewer than 10 human deaths from rabies are reported each year in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). More than 90% of reported rabies cases are discovered in wildlife, most commonly including skunks, bats, raccoons and foxes, the CDC said. Misty Love, owner of Farm Adventures mobile petting zoo in North Carolina, is advising visitors to see a doctor after four of her baby goats tested positive for rabies. WSOC-TV “Anybody that knows me knows my animals are the most important thing in the world to me, so it’s hard,” Misty Love, owner of the Farm Adventures petting zoo, told WSOC. Love said it appears the skunk that infected her goats got into their cage through a hole in late July. “It’s devastating,” Love said.

“They were kept in an enclosed pen to prevent any wild animal contact.” Love said that several weeks after being exposed to the skunk, the infected baby goats began showing signs of illness. She said none of the other animals that are part of the traveling petting zoo have been infected and that they have all been given rabies booster shots. “For any parent that has any question, I highly recommend them to go get vaccinated,” Love said. Love’s petting zoo has been put on quarantine, health officials said. “It’s a nightmare,” Love said.

Source: Rabid baby goats prompt North Carolina mobile petting zoo scare – ABC News

Show me your ways, LORD, teach me your paths.
Psalm 25:4

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