Information about wildlife in the Great Smoky Mountains.
A recent uptick in bear sightings has prompted Gatlinburg officials to issue a reminder to locals and visitors alike to watch out for bears and avoid any interaction with them. City officials are concerned for the safety of the bears and humans and issued a reminder of six basics for safe human-bear interaction: Never feed
This is a photo that was taken alongside the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail near Gatlinburg. It was taken out the car window as the cubs and their mother foraged around near the road for several minutes. The young cubs were obviously in the early process of just learning how to climb trees. Click for
Cabin cleaner comes face to face with black bear An East Tennessee woman told Local 8 News she was cleaning a customer’s cabin in Gatlinburg Monday afternoon when she noticed a black bear on the front porch. Christine Perry shared photographs of the encounter and said the bear was digging through an unsecured trash can
A Smokies backcountry shelter is closed after a camper was bitten by a bear. According to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Bradley Veeder, of Las Vegas, was sleeping in a tent near the Spence Field Backcounty Shelter on Tuesday when he was bitten in the leg through his tent. The bear was scared away,
During a particularly active fall for bears, Great Smoky Mountains National Park and academic researchers are turning to GPS technology to find ways to curb human-bear interactions related to food. >> Read Complete Article
TWRA officers said they had no options left but to shoot and kill a family of black bears that had been destroying property near a Gatlinburg vacation destination. TWRA officer Matt Cameron said that the mother black bear and her four yearling cubs have been rooting through garbage, getting into cars and cabins, even chasing
Reports of bear sightings are happening all over East Tennessee recently. A bear and her three cubs were spotted this week roaming all through downtown Sevierville. WATE 6 On Your Side viewers sent pictures of the bear family making their way through town, and police even blocked traffic to make sure the bears got through
For the fifth year, the Appalachian Trail Conservancy, the nonprofit that oversees management of the famous long distance trail, has made wildlife health and backpacker safety a priority in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park by helping to keep bears out of backpackers’ food. The Conservancy has provided $5,000 from its specialty license plate funds
It’s not your everyday crime. Bears broke into a Gatlinburg woman’s car. Kathy Gafford sent the WATE 6 On Your Side newsroom pictures of two bears climbing inside her car while she was working at a cabin along Ski Line Drive. “The baby was sitting in the passenger seat. The mama was sitting in that
Officials in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park closed several trails and backcountry campsites after a bear encounter that left a teenager hurt. A 16-year-old boy from Ohio was hurt Saturday night when a bear pulled him from his hammock, park officials said. It happened about 10:30 p.m. at backcountry campsite 84 in the Hazel
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