Did You Know That Bears Love Hot Tubs?

North Carolina is home to over 10,000 black bears, who occupy approximately 50% of our state’s land area, concentrated mostly in the mountains and coastal swamps.

The black bear is the only bear native to NC, and luckily they are usually very shy and non-aggressive, avoiding human beings in most cases. But that doesn’t mean they don’t enjoy some of our amenities…

Black bears are natural swimmers who love the water, and have been known to help themselves to their neighbors pools and hot tubs (without even asking first!).

Bears can smell food from miles away, so the best way to discourage an unwanted visit is to clean up any food spills, don’t leave garbage or pet food outside, thoroughly clean your grill after use and regularly clean up debris beneath bird feeders.

Check out this blog post from HotTubWorks.com to see some more bears enjoying pools and hot tubs around the country.

And meet Casey Anderson and his pet bear / best friend Brutus. (As cute as Brutus is, be grateful we don’t have Grizzly Bears in NC!)

Finally, take a look at the following videos from a home in New Jersey who’s backyard was briefly taken over by a family of black bears: