Bear reaches into car and scratches a national park tourist. Their window was open.
.png "Bears gather around dog food that someone left in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in May 2022. A bear scratched a tourist through the open window of a car in the national park, rangers said Saturday.")
A bear scratched a tourist through the open window of a car in Great Smoky Mountains National Park, rangers said Saturday.
“A visitor within their vehicle encountered a bear that has become habituated to humans and vehicles,” according to a park news release. “The visitor experienced minor scratches and did not contribute to the bear’s habituation.”
“The bear approached the vehicle and reached into an open window,” park spokeswoman Emily Davis told The Charlotte Observer in an email. “The visitor, an adult male, was scratched on the arm.”
The park straddles the border between North Carolina and Tennessee. The encounter happened in Blount County on the Tennessee side of the park.
.png "May 2022 bears with dog food intentionally left by people (1).png")
Road closed to protect bears, humans
Rangers closed Rich Mountain Road in the Cades Cove area until further notice.
Closing the road will give bears in the area a chance to eat and forage undisturbed, according to the news release.
“By closing Rich Mountain Road, we are protecting people and bears,” park Superintendent Cassius Cash said.
“When people intentionally attract bears with human food or pet food, it can lead to a dangerous situation for visitors, local communities, and the bears,” Cash said.
Cash called August a critical time for bears, “when berries, acorns and other primary food sources are not in season.”
So bears will often approach vehicles searching for food, Cash said.
“Once someone throws food out of a vehicle toward a bear, or leaves food on the ground, the bear becomes conditioned to that food and that experience,” according to the release.
Over time, the bear could become “bold and aggressive” approaching people and cars while searching for food, rangers said.
“A female bear will teach that inappropriate and dangerous behavior to her cubs,” officials said in the release.
Stay away, humans
Saturday’s encounter should remind visitors to “never intentionally approach, feed, or leave food or trash out for a bear,” according to the park.
Keep driving if you see bears, and always stay 50 yards, or 150 feet, from the animals.
Rangers advise photographers to use telephoto lenses when taking pictures of bears.
To report a bear incident or unusual bear activity in the Smokies, call 865-436-1230.
Bear-human encounters
Black bears are found in 60% of North Carolina’s land area, and sightings in the Piedmont become more common every year, The News & Observer previously reported.
Bears used to be statewide when forests were across the state, but their numbers began to decline in the early 1900s because of hunting and loss of food sources and habitat.
Now, more humans are in the state, raising the chances of bear encounters in their territories, officials say.
This story was originally published August 5, 2023 at 5:04 PM.