Hungry Bears Increasingly Visit Western North Carolina Homes

As winter approaches, bears build fat reserves and seek food before entering dens, with timing shaped by weather, food availability and physical condition. In western North Carolina, black bears’ fall food searches are bringing them into neighborhoods more often, raising the chance of encounters with people. Meanwhile, woolly bear caterpillar markings are often said to predict winter severity, but experts say the folklore is not reliable; the caterpillars’ color patterns are influenced by growth and molting and may reflect earlier seasonal conditions instead.