Grandfather Mountain bear cub video goes viral

A cellphone video of a mother black bear and her four cubs loping across the road and then bounding into the woods has caught fire on the Internet, with more than 800,000 views and climbing.

The footage was shot by Travis Platek, the son of Grand Father Mountain volunteer coordinator Lesley Platek, as the two drove along Highway 184 between the Lees-McRae College Mill Pond and the Banner Elk Fire Department.

In the background, you can hear Lesley Platek exclaiming: “Look at y’all! How cute!” The family dog can be heard offering commentary as well.

“Folks around here know that black bears usually have two to three cubs, so four is unusual,” said Jesse Pope, executive director of the Grandfather Mountain Stewardship Foundation.

Pope said nature videos posted on the Grandfather Mountain Facebook page often do well. “We had an otter video in the snow last winter that I think had over one million views.”

This story was originally published May 17, 2016 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Grandfather Mountain bear cub video goes viral."