Asheville News

Is Asheville seeing an unusually high level of bear activity this year?

Jason Sandford June 9, 2010

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

Loyal reader Pamela asks:

Is it just me or do there seem to be more bears in Asheville this year than before?

I was travelling to work this AM, from Swannanoa, coming west on Hwy 70, and at the Parkway entrance a large bear lumbered across Hwy 70 and into the woods. I thought it was a large dog, until I realized it was a bear and almost crashed my car. Anybody got any theories?

Recent headlines would seem to point to an answer – yes. The Asheville Citizen-Times reports:

ASHEVILLE — The killing of a family dog by a bear led a Buncombe County elementary school to close a play area Tuesday and added to a list of rare bear encounters even before summer begins.

So, what’s going on? Any theories?

Jason Sandford

Jason Sandford is a reporter, writer, blogger and photographer interested in all things Asheville.

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4 Comments

Dan June 22, 2010

People keep moving here, building houses deeper and deeper into the mountains and complain about bears.

Reply
Alex June 12, 2010

Bears have always been here. There has been an erroneous idea that Black Bears were "in trouble" in the Southern Appalachians. This is just not true. They are becoming more common, and are getting used to humans, a volatile combination.

Reply
Dad June 10, 2010

I’m thinkin’ there’s a connection between beer, bears, and roller derby.

I need a creative to flesh this out into a story.

Reply
kel June 10, 2010

That elementary school (where our kids have attended for years) has always had alot of bear sightings. Same goes for our neighborhood near the school. It backs up to the parkway.
It’s been this way for the 10 years we’ve lived in this neighborhood.

Reply