A man, Patrick Conley of Asheville, North Carolina, has had numerous encounters with bears since the late summer of 2017, when a family of bears began visiting him. The man lives in the Beaverdam Valley, where the local bears are accustomed, meaning they generally know and ignore humans. But this family got to know Conley and often visits him in his yard and porch.
After years of getting to know bears, Conley decided to name them. The eldest mother is Maïté, and she has a grown up son Maurice, a daughter named Simone (who is now a mother to two young cubs, and another daughter named Solange).
Simone was already a close friend to Patrick, so for him, meeting the cubs was the same as meeting a new family member.
Conley posts videos of his bear encounters on his YouTube page. In a video from May 2021, you can see the first time Simone has taken her adorable little cubs to visit Conley.
