MAIDEN, N.C. — A video shows a large black bear bounding into the woods just outside a church in Maiden, N.C.
Witnesses believe it weighs over 300 pounds.
The pastor at the Living Word Church says there are a lot of blackberry bushes across the street that may have attracted the black bear.
Chris Wilson says he was on his way to work this morning traveling south on Business 321 when he spotted the bear.
He grabbed his cellphone and started taking these images of the bear as it roamed right outside the church's office, and then scrambled around the congregation’s outreach center.
Channel 9 talked with Wilson, who never got out of his truck during the rare sighting.
He told us he was surprised by the size of the bear.
"It was crazy. Right here between Lincolnton and downtown Maiden I didn't know what to think. You know, I was like wow, a bear, “he said.
A wildlife biologist told us he believes the bear will move out of this area but is asking folks nearby to be careful with their trash and bird feeders.
WSOC
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