Black bears make themselves at home on campus
October 23, 2013
By Ashika Raval – [email protected] – Staff Writer
As winter draws closer, bears come down the mountain looking for more sources of food. Unfortunately, campus dining does not provide to bears.
In the past month, several sightings of black bears occurred on campus. They have been spotted all around campus, specifically the baseball field and near the Sherrill Center.
“At first I just saw a big black shape out of the corner of my eye, and then I did a double take and realized there were three black bears,” sophomore Peter Menzies said.
As cute as these bears may look, they should not be approached or bothered. Don’t ever get between a mother and her cubs. Do not run from a bear, rather, back away slowly. This will help reduce their fear. Definitely do not feed them. Not only will they chase you for more food, but this will mislead them into thinking there is more food on campus.
“I’ve camped several times around western North Carolina, but have never run into any bears, so I didn’t really know what to do. Since I was on my bike, I wasn’t too concerned about getting too close, so I took a video,” Menzies said.
