Bear Takes Midnight Tour at Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg Caught on Weather Cam

In an unusual nocturnal escapade, a black bear was caught on camera strolling through Ripley's Aquarium in Gatlinburg, generating quite a buzz on social media. The solitary bear was spotted late Monday night by Ken Weathers, a weather anchor for WATE, via a live weather cam feed.

Footage reveals the animal sauntering across the plaza, seemingly on a leisurely night walk, before it casually vanished from sight. Despite the unexpected visitor, no incidents were reported, likely because the sighting occurred after hours. "The bear could be seen walking across the plaza at Ripley’s. It wanders around for a few seconds before disappearing from view," Weathers recounted in a statement obtained by WATE.

Black bear encounters are not rare in the region, especially during spring and summer. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) previously informed that sightings in populated areas have been increasing. "The bear population is continuing to grow and so is the amount of people coming to our area," Janelle Musser, a Black Bear Support Biologist with the TWRA, told WATE last June.

As the situation might seem amusing, the TWRA emphasized the importance of caution around wild bears, urging the public to refrain from feeding or approaching them. Instead, should a close encounter occur, they suggest attempting to scare the bear away with loud noises. "Don’t feed it and don’t talk to it," the agency warns. Escaping by running isn't advised either, as it might provoke a chase. This sagacity can't be understated, especially given the rising number of such occurrences detailed in a report by WKRN.

Don Hudson, an anchor for 6News, also noted the wild encounter on social media, posting a brief video of the bear's appearance with a caption that read, "noticed a bear on a weather camera at the Ripley's Aquarium." The clip, shared on X, showed the bear before it ambled down some steps and out of the frame, becoming a momentary Internet sensation before it retreated into the Tennessee night.