Bear destroys $10,000 worth of beehives belonging to Raleigh bee farmer

On November 22, Olson got a text from a farmer who was using his bees to pollinate crops in Duplin County.

The man told Olson that a young bear had torn apart 38 of his beehives, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake.

Olson lost hundreds of pounds of honey, nearly the entire fall harvest for Heaven Scent Honey.

“But the biggest loss is the future loss, the loss of not having those hives next year,” Olson told WRAL News. “The cost of having to start over, to start those hives back over.”

Altogether, Olson said the bear did more than $10,000 in damage.

He told his usual farmer’s market he was considering shutting Heaven Scent Honey down for good.

“This kind of puts it over the top where it hurts, you don’t want to do it no more,” Olson said. “So they came back to us and said no, we want to help, we want to do something.”

Last week, supporters convinced Olson to launch a fundraiser on GoFundMe, asking for $15,000 to help the business get back on track for next year.

“I’m just absolutely amazed,” Olson told WRAL News. “Never done anything like it before, never dreamed that it would take off and do well, but it’s going to allow us to replace all these bees and the frames and the foundation.”