For the past three days, a 30 pound baby bear cub has occupied a tree near Satterwhite Log Homes off of Highway 515 in Ellijay. According to Satterwhite employee Lisa Salman, when the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was contacted about the cub, the DNR said that it would not rescue the bear. In fact, when an Atlanta Wild Animal Rescue Effort (A.W.A.R.E) unit came up from Atlanta to investigate the situation, the DNR ordered the unit not to rescue the cub either. In a recent conversation with FYN, the DNR said that it is illegal to capture wild animals such as this one. The idea, here, is to keep wild animals in the wild, the DNR said, adding that capturing a wild bear and keeping it in captivity could endanger the bear’s life even more than leaving it in the wild.

Salman expressed concern for the animal because it was so close to the highway where it could get hit by a car and that bear season has begun. She said the last time she saw the cub, it had left the tree and ran across the highway.