A woman followed a strange noise outside her home and was left stunned when she found a "massive" bear den in her back garden.
Casey Vandergrift, from North Carolina, US, believed an animal was suffering in pain over the weekend after hearing a loud whimpering sound.
The homeowner decided to follow the noise as she was concerned the noise was nearby.
Casey said: “I was sitting out on my back porch and heard this really sad whimper, like a sick animal or something."
However, as she followed the noise she looked closer and saw "two giant eyeballs" staring at her.
She was stunned to see a bear looking back after her after the animal made a den behind her home.
Casey, who lives in the mountain town of Asheville, revealed: “He’s absolutely massive, snores at night, and is super unbothered by myself."
A video of the bear was uploaded to Facebook and reached Help Asheville Bears, which is an organisation that help tos protect bears.
The group founder Jody Williams was intrigued by the sighting and went to Casey's back garden to take a look at the animal.
Help Asheville Bears posted on Facebook: “After seeing the bear (from a distance, so as to not disturb), Jody believed it to be possibly a female who may be denning up in early preparation for the colder weather to maybe give birth to cubs in January."
The homeowner admitted to Jody she plans on keeping the bear den - even though it's not far from her home - as she remains grateful the bear chose to live nearby.
Casey said: “I’ve got a pretty unique piece of property right here ’cause pretty much everybody is on top of everybody.
“And when you get in my backyard, you kind of feel like you’re in a little oasis.”
Group founder Jody admitted it is hard to estimate the size of the bear without the animal walking around but she believes females can weigh up to 300 pounds.
She admitted most black bears, which are the only species living in North Carolina, are found in western and eastern parts of the state.
According to the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission's website: "Bears put on additional weight in autumn to prepare for winter denning.
“They build dens in cavities of live trees, hollow logs, caves, rock outcroppings, cavities in the ground, or in a thicket.”
The animals normally enter their dens in the winter before leaving a couple months later as bears try to avoid humans.
Anyone who sees a bear should remain far away and remain calm.
The Wildlife Resources Commission added: “To avoid negative interactions, bears should never have access to human foods, garbage, pet food or bird food."
