Dinner for three? Bear shows up in Carolina Forest yard just before son, mom sit to eat

Adam Hayes was just about to enjoy dinner with his mother on his back porch Saturday evening when an uninvited guest showed up.

“When we walked out we were like ‘Oh, there’s a bear,’” said Hayes, a resident of Carolina Forest’s Brighton Lakes subdivision.

The bear cub, which Hayes estimated to be about 80 or 90 pounds, showed up around 7 p.m. Saturday to help itself to the yard’s bird feeder. It was one of several bear sightings Hayes has had in the past week and a half. He said he’s seen the one from Saturday several times in the mornings, and a couple times it was accompanied by another that is about three times its size.

“We were really surprised when we saw the big one with it,” said Hayes, who assumes the bigger one is a parent of the cub.

Hayes said he’s lived at the residence since 2018 and had heard of bear sightings in Carolina Forest via a Facebook group. Still, seeing one in person is quite the shock, he said.

“Oh my God. We’ve got a damn bear in the backyard. Now we have to move,” he said with a bit of sarcasm.

Hayes said he’s not alone in having several bird feeders in his backyard. However, he said none of his close neighbors have seen the bears come into their yards.

“We’re just that lucky,” Hayes said.

The frequent sightings are now warranting some lifestyle changes, Hayes admitted.

“For one, I’m definitely going to be more observant when I’m cutting the grass now because I started cutting the grass in the evenings because it’s so hot. So now I’m not doing that,” he said.

When asked if he thought he should take the bird feeders down, Hayes reasoned that the bears likely would then just go to ones put out by neighbors, some of whom own dogs that are let out in the backyard. Hayes said it’s going to take a community collaboration to keep the bears from showing up in the neighborhood.

“We’d have to make a group effort there,” he said.

This story was originally published August 11, 2019 at 4:32 PM with the headline "Dinner for three? Bear shows up in Carolina Forest yard just before son, mom sit to eat."