Deborah Norville
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The Bear Whisperer

Airdate: 10/2/2008
It was a jaw-dropping moment caught on tape as a woman came face-to-face with a 400-pound black bear in her own backyard.

The dramatic moment happened in the middle of INSIDE EDITION's interview with the woman who calls herself "The Bear Whisperer."

Susan Kehoe is so obsessed with bears she has videotaped some incredible footage around her home in New Jersey. The home video shows two adorable bear cubs swimming in her backyard baby pool and playing on her hammock.

"I just wish everyone could experience what I have here," she says.

But most bear experts say it's dangerous to experience what she has. Kehoe does risky things like approaching a protective mother bear with cubs.

In one video, Kehoe can incredibly enough be heard singing a lullaby to a sleeping bear.

But, when the big bear wakes, he's none too pleased with Kehoe's singing. He took an angry swipe at her.

Kehoe admitted she has no formal training in bear behavior. So when INSIDE EDITION's April Woodard asked her of the chance she could be attacked, mauled, hurt or even killed by one of her beloved bears, Kehoe responded, "That happened basically in another part of the country out west where bears are not accustomed to being in neighborhoods and being around people."

Peter Laline is a wildlife expert at the Staten Island Zoo and has worked with bears for 15 years. He watched the video INSIDE EDITION shot of Kehoe's face off with one of the bears in her backyard.

"It's extremely dangerous! Bears are extremely fast. If this bear were to attack she would have no chance to even stand up," he says.

But Kehoe says black bears are misunderstood. "They're shy; they're timid animals." She says she has no plans to stop whispering to bears.



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