Bears are a common sight in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, but one got a little too close for comfort for a man outside his Asheville home this week.
David Oppenheimer was relaxing outside Tuesday when he heard an alarm sound from his motion detector.
“I looked behind me and didn’t see anything,” Oppenheimer told CNN, “But about a minute later, the bear came along and was practically in front of me.”
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, WYOMING, UNITED STATES - 2017/06/02: A Mother Grizzly and her cub walk through a meadow in Yellowstone National Park. (Photo by Will Powers/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images) Will Powers/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty ImagesDoorbell video shows the exact moment Oppenheimer and the bear make eye contact, both appearing equally as startled by the other.
From his lounge chair, Oppenheimer gripped a pillow as his body froze until the bear ran off a few seconds later.
The bear, who Oppenheimer believes to be relatively young, retreated quickly, making a small sound before dashing away.
“My eyeballs certainly got a stretch,” Oppenheimer joked.
This jump scare wasn’t the first time these two encountered each other.
Oppenheimer said the same bear has visited his home a couple times before to inspect trash cans and grab a quick bite from his “bear-proof” bird feeder.
“The bears here are very peaceful,” Oppenheimer told CNN. “This one just caught me off guard.”
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