Bear sightings, weird wildlife news inspire parody Twitter accounts

When local news gets weird, sometimes Twitter follows suit.

This summer, a black bear roamed York County for a couple weeks, showing up in front yards in Rock Hill and wooded areas in Clover. Within three hours of the most-widely discussed local bear sighting on June 17, a parody social media account – the Rock Hill Bear on Twitter – emerged.

Footage from a York County Sheriff’s Office deputy’s car dashcam of a young black bear crossing the road in Rock Hill later became The Herald’s most-watched news video in June. Several local readers sent in their own photos of the bear in their neighborhood, evidently looking for food after being kicked out of its home.

Though the S.C. Department of Natural Resources says summertime black bear sightings aren’t unusual across the state, the novelty of a bear lurking around Rock Hill became a hit on social media.

It wasn’t the first time a bear was the talk of the town. A few summers ago, a black bear wandered around Rock Hill, prompting authorities to set out a trap with a burlap bag full of honey buns and sardines.

Twitter was around a few years ago but no one started a “Rock Hill Bear” account then.

It’s not unusual for parody Twitter accounts to spring up, typically inspired by local news events or odd happenings that “go viral” nationally. For example, in 2011 in New York, someone started a “Bronx Zoo Cobra” account after a venomous Egyptian cobra escaped the zoo’s Reptile House. Four years later, though the snake was caught by zoo officials shortly after it went missing, the silly cobra Twitter account is still going strong with 168,000 followers/fans.

Locally, Twitter accounts based on animals in the news haven’t picked up as many followers. But, their antics seem to be appreciated nevertheless.

The trick, it seems, to a successful fake or parody Twitter account is for the person running the page to stay in character – or keep it “kayfabe,” a term for in-character performances by professional wrestlers – as the man behind the Rock Hill Bear profile told The Herald recently.

The owner of “Rock Hill Bear” says he doesn’t want to disclose his identity.

“Only ‘Momma Bear’ knows ... Friends are still in the dark,” he said. “I love to hear my friends and co-workers try to guess who the Rock Hill Bear is. Nobody has ever guessed me which means I'm doing something right.”

He did share some details about himself: he’s a South Carolina native, married, in his 30s, and works a “normal professional” job locally.

His favorite hangouts are downtown Rock Hill eateries like Millstone Pizza, Amelie’s, Five & Dine, and the Cheesecake Carousel. Not surprising – the bear loves those places because “they have awesome stuff in their trash cans,” he says.

The fake bear account is just for laughs, the owner says. “Hopefully people see my tweets and get a chuckle. With all the bad news I figured it was a ‘beary’ good time for something lighthearted.”

For those who appreciate the wit, things get even funnier when parody accounts interact with each other on Twitter. The Rock Hill Bear is Internet buds with the “Chapin Bear,” a similar account that was created after a black bear was spotted along Interstate 26 and elsewhere in Lexington County.

The conversation is cross-species, too.

The parody account based on a small alligator spotted in Lake Wylie earlier this year is vying to be at the top of the food chain.

The person behind the account offered this information about himself: “Obviously I am not a York County native as alligators are not native to this area. I was originally born in a swamp outside of Goose Creek.”

Squirrel, crow pests live on on Twitter

The real local gator and the bear have so far escaped capture. But, not all wildlife has fared as well in local news.

Two other popular parody accounts are the “Rock Hill Squirrel” and the “Rock Hill Crow” – both known for causing problems in electric substations and knocking out power. Animals are typically killed or electrocuted once inside substations but the owners behind these accounts help them live on.

The Rock Hill Crow profile is the latest account to pop up – created earlier this month after news reports of a power outage affecting more than 3,000 electricity customers in Rock Hill. City officials said a crow flew into a substation, causing the outage.

Like the bear, the Rock Hill Crow doesn’t want to publicly share his identity – it could ruin the fun, after all.

He told The Herald last week that he is a Winthrop University graduate “who returned to Rock Hill after having flown the coop for a few years.”

He’s using the humorous Twitter account, he said, to “crow about all that’s great about life in Rock Hill.”

The Rock Hill Squirrel, on the other hand, is known for what he deems “squirrel sarcasm” and the user behind the account sometimes weighs on local topics.

‘Winthrop Worms’ popular account for students

By far, the account with the largest following in this group of local fake animal Twitter profiles is one called “Winthrop Worms” – a nod to the green cankerworms that appear in York County in the fall and spring. Cankerworms are harmful to trees – their habitat – and are particularly visible on Winthrop’s tree-filled campus.

The species poses no threat to human health but residents often complain about cankerworm infestations covering their yards, driveways, pets, and cars.

The annoyance of the tiny worms dangling from trees and landing on pedestrians is what prompted three Winthrop students to start the Winthrop Worms account two years ago. More than 600 people follow “Winthrop Worms” and the three former roommates who run the account have posted nearly 600 tweets since April 2013.

Like the rest of the jokesters, the guys behind the Winthrop Worms Twitter want to stay anonymous.

“There are only a handful of people who know who the account is run by,” one of them told The Herald recently. “That makes it cool because when we were in class, people would joke about stuff I had tweeted. And, many times I have overheard people on campus and in places like the grocery store laughing about stuff we have come up with.”

All three of the friends behind the account have since graduated but continue to post as “Winthrop Worms.”

Apparently, the Winthrop Worms weren’t thrilled about the university and the city’s efforts last year to reduce the cankerworm infestation through tree-banding.

Twitter Inc. allows parody accounts and other profiles set up as “fan” pages, with some requirements such as users not infringing on a person or company’s trademarks. The website’s usage policy states, “Twitter provides a platform for its users to share and receive a wide range of ideas and content, and we greatly value and respect our users' right to expression.”

There’s no official count of parody or fake Twitter accounts but the company reports it has more than 300 million active users monthly, sending a half-billion tweets a day.

This story was originally published July 25, 2015 at 5:08 PM with the headline "Bear sightings, weird wildlife news inspire parody Twitter accounts."