WATCH: Man, bear startled by face-to-face encounter

ASHEVILLE, N.C. (CNN) - A North Carolina man is still in shock after he had a close encounter with a bear outside his home.

David Oppenheimer was relaxing on a lounge chair Tuesday outside his home in Asheville, North Carolina, when his motion detector sounded an alarm. He turned around and didn’t see anything.

But moments later, a bear was staring him right in the face.

“The bear came along and was practically in front of me,” Oppenheimer told CNN.

Doorbell video shows both man and bear were startled by the sudden, face-to-face encounter. Oppenheimer grabbed a pillow, admitting his body froze. The bear did not move toward the man but instead ran off.

“My eyeballs certainly got a stretch,” Oppenheimer joked.

Oppenheimer says this is not the first time this bear has come calling. He says he’s noticed the same bear looking through his trash cans in the past and grabbing a quick bite from his “bear-proof” bird feeder.

“The bears here are very peaceful,” Oppenheimer told CNN. “This one just caught me off guard.”

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