Country singer confronted by bear in NC garage. Video shows how he scared it away
Country singer Brett Eldredge experienced North Carolina’s worsening bear troubles firsthand when he opened a garage door in Asheville and a bear strolled in.
Eldredge shared video of the incident Wednesday with his 1.4 million Instagram followers, showing the stubborn bear largely ignoring his attempts to scare it away.
“Opened the garage door to go on a hike and had a new friend waiting to say hello,” Eldredge wrote on Instagram.
The video, which has more than 340,000 views as of the morning of Sept. 9, shows the bear was focused on the home’s trash bin, which sat just inside the garage door. It is seen pulling the bin away from the wall, turning it over and trying to pry it open — all while Eldredge and others were yelling to scare it away.
It is eventually seen backing out of the garage door, with the bin appearing to have stayed intact.
The incident underscores the growing number of human encounters with bears in the North Carolina mountains, including reports bears can open vehicle doors with their paws. A sleeping teen was seriously hurt in a bear attack earlier this summer in the nearby Great Smoky Mountains National Park, McClatchy News reports.
Commenters on Eldredge’s video have called the moment scary, and reminiscent of a 2017 incident in which he famously found a large snake crawling out of his toilet.
“Snakes in toilets, bears in garages. What’s next for you?” Definitelynotcat wrote.
“Omg! You’re talking to it like it’s a stray dog,” commenter Mamigz posted.
“Pots and pans! Also set off your alarm!” Kaliam57 advised.
Eldredge didn’t say why he was in Asheville, but the singer is currently preparing for his Good Day Tour, which starts next week.
He is best known for hits like “Don’t Ya,” “Beat Of The Music,” “Wanna Be That Song” and “Love Someone.”
This story was originally published September 9, 2021 at 7:39 AM with the headline "Country singer confronted by bear in NC garage. Video shows how he scared it away."