Misguided Bear Enjoys Internet Fame Following Errant Trip to Suburbs

The most popular being on social media in Montgomery County may just be a black bear that wandered across a prominent local estate and immediately captivated residents of the town.

The bear was spotted crossing the Old Oaks Estate in Beallsville, home to Tom and Joyce McCartin, and a popular wedding venue and host site for a popular gathering known as, ironically enough, Teddy Bear Tea Party.

Tom McCartin was able to snap a photo of the bear as he crossed the estate, and it wasn’t long after he posted the photo to his Facebook page that the shot went viral.

In the blink of an eye, that photo inspired the creation of a Facebook page for the bear, now known throughout the community as the Poolesville Bear.

Funny shtick, right? Oh, it was much, much more than that.

In a matter of mere hours, the Poolesville Bear began accumulating Facebook friends en masse, and it now claims more than 300 friends on the popular social media site.

And the bear posts, too. His relationship status reads “it’s complicated,” and a post from the bear’s account earlier this year reads “I think poolesville needs more eye level food kiosks!”

Another reads “I made the mistake of searching for sexy bear pictures today. I won’t be doing that again!!!” That status was followed by the emoticon tag “feeling scared.”

Other town residents began to join in the fun, which only furthered the Poolesville Bear’s presence on social media. One Facebook friend asked the bear the following on his Facebook wall: “Can you just do this along Fisher (Ave.)? — it will boost tourism.”

For context’s sake, that post was accompanied by this video:

However, contrary to much of the Poolesville Bear’s backstory, bear sightings in suburban Maryland are more common than you might think.

In the last year alone there was a bear sighting in downtown Rockville, another in Montgomery County, a couple in Howard County and even one on the National Institutes of Health’s Bethesda campus.

“Frankly, our goal isn’t to make sure people in Montgomery County never see a bear,” Paul Peditto of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources said after last year’s bear sighting on the NIH campus. “We’re going to respond to these somewhat emergent situations, but generally folks in this part of the world have to get used to seeing bears. They’re not going to be as common as raccoons but our bear population is slowly growing.”

So there you have it — bears roaming our streets may not be an everyday occurrence, but it’s not exactly as rare as the passing of Halley’s Comet, either.

Still, that hasn’t stopped Maryland residents from being enamored with these bears when they venture into the ‘burbs.

Last year, following the bear sighting at the NIH, a Twitter account with the handle @NIH_Bear was formed as a way to both honor and parody the bear. The bear’s twitter bio alone indicates the light-hearted intent of the account:

“We are a bear. We have no official affiliation with the National Institutes of Health. They refuse to hire bears.“

That parody account, which maintains more than 3,700 followers despite being nearly a year removed from the bear’s visit to Bethesda, set a precedent for what the Poolesville Bear’s Facebook account could be, and the most recent bear to earn Internet fame has not disappointed.

As for the next bear to wander into suburban Maryland, the bar has been set rather high. This is a warning to all bears who might’ve taken a wrong turn through the woods: Be prepared to make a social media presence; your fans among local residents will expect nothing less.

Image credit: Tom McCartin