ASHEVILLE - Abear that was going to be euthanized by the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission will instead go to the North Carolina Zoo, according to the Wildlife Resources Commission.
The bear, nicknamed Dolly by her supporters, entered a home in Asheville on Aug. 18 and injured the woman living there as the bear tried to exit the home, N.C. Wildlife said at the time.
Since the incident on Aug. 18, the bearhas tried to break into four other homes, according to N.C. Wildlife. The commission later announced that the bear would be euthanized.
North Asheville resident Hannah Furgiuele then launched a campaign to save Dolly, creating a website and advocating publicly for the bear's relocation.
Furgiuele told the Citizen Times Sept. 17 that she was told by
Brad Howard, chief of the Wildlife Management Division at the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission and executive director Kyle Briggs that Dolly would be spared. The N.C. WRC released a statement Sept. 18 confirming that the zoo had agreed to temporarily take Dolly until a permanent home could be found.
"NCWRC staff have been in contact with the N.C. Zoo and, in the event we can safely capture the North Asheville bear alive, the Zoo has agreed to temporarily care for the bear until an appropriate permanent home is identified," the statement read. "Biologists will continue efforts to safely capture the bear despite limited success thus far. Staff will continue to monitor the neighborhood and respond to reports to the NC Wildlife Helpline."
Anna Gurney, spokesperson for the N.C. WRC, declined to comment when asked what led up to the decision.
The North Carolina Zoo did not respond to an email from the Citizen Times Sept. 17.
Furgiuele said that her hope is that the situation involving Dolly will become part of a larger conversation that will help support the efforts of N.C. Wildlife, and in particular, Ashley Hobbs, the state biologist assigned to Buncombe County, who often spends her days working to educate the public about living around bears.
"I really want to cultivate those relationships," Furgiuele said. "I've learned a lot from Ashley just in talking with her, and I have a tremendous respect for the work she does and the viewpoint that she has, which is so different from my own."
She said that while her first goal was earning a "pardon" for Dolly, her second is to create systemic changes in Buncombe County, including making bear-resistant trash cans a mandatory part of living in Asheville. She intends to continue approaching the Asheville City Council about the bear issue.
"I'm celebrating this victory because it shows that people will listen when the community speaks and advocates for something that they feel really deeply passionate and strong about," she said. "And I'm hoping that we can wrap up all of that energy and put it towards the infrastructure that will avoid these outcomes because, to be very clear, this is not something that's going to happen for every bear."
Kara Fohner is the Public Safety Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times. Email her at kfohner@usatodayco.com or call her at 980-241-8671.
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Asheville bear 'Dolly' saved from euthanasia by state
