Bear cub spends the day lounging in tree behind North Carolina homes

WASHINGTON, N.C., Dec. 8 (UPI) -- Residents in a North Carolina neighborhood woke up to find they had an unusual visitor -- a black bear cub perched high in a tree.

Beaufort County Animal Control said residents in a block of town homes in Washington reported a bear cub 20 feet up in a tree behind their homes Wednesday morning.

Animal control officers said they were monitoring the cub in case it decided to come down from the tree. They said there was no sign of the mother in the area.

Officials said the cub would likely leave on its own after nightfall.

Black bear visits are uncommon in the area, but not unheard of -- a local resident captured photos of a group of cubs wandering a Washington neighborhood in May and posted the images to Facebook.