'My eyeballs got a stretch': Camera captures black bear startling man at home

David Oppenheimer was relaxing on a sun lounger when he turned to see a large black bear

A doorbell camera has caught the moment a black bear creeped up and startled a man while he lay on a sun lounger in North Carolina.

David Oppenheimer, based in Asheville, was relaxing at home on Tuesday when an alarm sounded from his motion detector.

A common sight in the Blue Ridge Mountains, the photographer was not expecting to later turn and see a large black bear beside him.

Footage shows him jumping as the two make eye contact, gripping a pillow as his body froze until the bear runs off a few seconds later.

Doorbell video shows the exact moment Oppenheimer and the bear make eye contact. Credit: David Oppenheimer

"I looked behind me and didn't see anything," Oppenheimer said of the moment the motion detector sounded.

"But about a minute later, the bear came along and was practically in front of me."

"My eyeballs certainly got a stretch."

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This jump scare wasn't the first time these two encountered each other - Oppenheimer said the same bear has visited his home a couple times before to inspect the rubbish bins and grab a quick bite from his "bear-proof" bird feeder.

"The bears here are very peaceful," he added.

"This one just caught me off guard."

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