“Selfie Bear” cub released into wild

NCWRC rehabilitated the cub

The NCWRC recently released an orphaned female bear cub into western North Carolina’s wilderness. This cub became internationally known as “Selfie Bear” after folks from an Asheville apartment complex pulled the cub from a tree and began taking photos of themselves holding it, which is illegal.

NCWRC staff rescued the cub later from a nearby retention pond, and took it to a state-licensed rehabilitation facility.

A second cub, presumed to be this one’s sibling, was seen running away but never located.

After a successful stint at the rehab facility, the cub was deemed healthy and fit, with a great shot at surviving on its own in the wild. With a tracking collar and identifying tags and marks in place, the cub was released.

NC Wildlife has received numerous updates from the cub’s GPS tracking collar.

“The GPS collar data shows that she is adjusting well to life back in the wild,” said NCWRC Bearwise Coordinator Ashley Hobbs. “Like most rehabilitated black bear cubs, we expect this cub to follow its instincts this winter and identify an appropriate location to den. Bear cubs are resilient animals, and it looks like this cub won’t be an exception.”

NCWRC wildlife biologists said the folks pulling the cub from the tree endangered their own lives, as well as that of the cub.

“People who try to capture or handle a cub are not only risking the cub’s safety, but also their own if the mother bear is nearby, as she may try to defend her cubs,” said Game Mammals and Surveys Supervisor Colleen Olfenbuttel. “By trying to capture a bear cub, you may cause it to become orphaned, injured or both.”

If you see a bear cub, NCWRC said it is probably not orphaned, but simply waiting on its mom to return. Trying to “save” the cub will almost always do more harm than good. Instead, they advise you to:

• Not handle it
• Not attempt to catch it
• Not remove it
• Not feed it

The only thing you should do, according to NCWRC, is to take a note of your location and call the NC Wildlife Helpline at 866-318-2401.

Olfenbuttel also said “It’s imperative for the public to never feed a bear of any age. This will cause it to become habituated to people, and with cubs, it makes it more challenging for any successful rehabilitation back into the wild. Last year, an orphaned cub was repeatedly approached and fed by people, and despite our rehabilitator’s best efforts, the cub was too habituated to be successfully released back in the wild.”

The release of the “Selfie Bear” cub was the ninth black bear cub rehabilitated and released by NCWRC in 2024.