Wild bear cub ripped out of tree so people could get photos holding it

Wildlife experts have condemned a group of people who terrorised two wild bear cubs and left one of them unwell just for the sake of a photo.

The six individuals were filmed approaching the cubs after spotting them in a tree near an apartment complex in Asheville, North Carolina, on Tuesday.

The young animals would normally have been separated from the complex by a metal fence, but had climbed onto a branch hanging just above the fence.

Some of the group could be seen reaching into the foliage to grab the bears and pull them out.

One woman eventually manages to tear one bear off its perch and walks away with it.

Gripping it with one hand, she is then seen stomping her feet like an excited child, shaking the cub in the process.

She then holds it still and grins while a friend takes a picture of her, tightening her grip on the animal after it tries to wriggle free.

This bear was left injured and unwell by the ordeal, wildlife officials said

The group were told they risked endangering themselves and the animals

The cub eventually manages to escape her clutches and runs along the fence while the woman chases it, failing to flee into the vegetation.

Some of the other women in the group attempted to grab the other cub but couldn’t get it out of the tree.

Officials from North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission were called to the scene by witnesses and took the trapped cub into care.

Ashley Hobbs, a biologist with the government agency, told CBS News: ‘I confronted the offending people while at the apartment complex and explained the danger of approaching and handling wildlife,

‘There’s always a chance that the mother is nearby and may attempt to defend her cubs.

‘It also endangers the bear cubs. Handling a bear cub poses a risk of injuring that cub and increases the chance it will become separated from its mother.’

The bear cub was found to be lethargic, limping and had a low body temperature.

As its mother was nowhere to be seen, it now has to be kept in captivity until it is old enough to survive in the wild.

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