A black bear in West Virginia is shocking wildlife watchers—because it walks like a human.
Outdoorsman Kirk Price caught the bizarre creature on a trail camera deep in the Appalachian Mountains. The footage shows the bear standing and moving entirely upright, like a person.
Despite its condition, the bear roams freely and seems healthy. Price believes it’s a male around eight years old.
“He’s doing just fine,” Price told USA Today. “The terrain is steep, but he gets around with no trouble.”
Locals First Spotted the Bear in 2018
Price said he first heard about the upright bear six years ago. It was much smaller back then, but still walked on two legs.
“He wasn’t a cub,” he explained. “He was already on his own. Cubs stay with their mothers until about two years old.”
Since then, the bear has doubled in size. It now wanders a five-mile area and avoids humans as much as possible.
“He’s elusive,” Price said. “People rarely see him in person. Most sightings come from trail cameras.”
Hunter Describes Face-to-Face Encounter
Price had just one close encounter with the upright bear. He detailed the experience in a YouTube video from 2022.
That day, he was training his hounds to tree bears. In West Virginia, this is legal year-round. Hunters drive with GPS tracking, let dogs loose once they smell a bear, then find the animal after it’s treed.
But this time was different.
“I got the alert from my GPS that a bear was treed,” Price said. “But when I got there, the bear wasn’t in a tree.”
Bear on Two Legs Shocks Hunter
Instead, he saw something unbelievable.
“There’s a bear on its hind legs, running around like a sasquatch,” he recalled. “It was bizarre.”
His dogs surrounded the bear, but it didn’t attack. It just moved upright, navigating the steep forest ground with ease.
The moment stunned Price, even with years of hunting experience under his belt.
“I’ve never seen anything like it,” he said. “It caught me completely off guard.”
Bear Likely Born Without Front Legs
Although some might assume a violent injury caused the condition, Price believes otherwise.
“I firmly believe he was born this way,” he said. “He’s overcome all odds. That’s what makes him amazing.”
Despite being a seasoned bear hunter, Price says this bear is off-limits.
“I would never purposely hunt him,” he added. “This one is special.”
Memories of Pedals, the Jersey Bear
This isn’t the first two-legged bear to gain national attention. A similar black bear named Pedals was seen walking upright in New Jersey for years.
Sadly, Pedals was killed during a hunt in 2016, sparking outrage and calls for greater protection of disabled wildlife.
That tragedy still lingers in the minds of many animal lovers—and Price hopes this West Virginia bear escapes the same fate.
Bears Are Tough Survivors
Adult black bears are known for their strength and agility. They can run up to 35 miles per hour and climb trees like pros.
Even with just two legs, this bear proves how adaptable these animals can be.
He may not run as fast or climb trees, but his ability to survive for eight years in rugged mountains is nothing short of remarkable.
Conservation and Respect Can Coexist
Price is quick to clarify he’s not anti-hunting. He regularly hunts and eats bear meat. However, he draws a line with this one.
“I believe in conservation,” he said. “Bears thriving on the landscape is a beautiful thing.”
For now, the bear continues to roam the wild hills of West Virginia, evading cameras and staying out of reach.
As long as he keeps walking upright, though, he won’t stay a secret forever.
