The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) was compelled to euthanize a bear after it was discovered rummaging through a refrigerator inside a Sevier County residence, a situation that became necessary after the animal repeatedly trespassed in the area seeking food. As conveyed by TWRA spokesperson Matt Cameron, the bear had also been rummaging through the beds of trucks belonging to cabin cleaners as well as dining on refuse from construction dumpsters. "Per the bear conflict matrix, this bear was trapped and humanely killed," Cameron noted. "Unfortunately, this bear was past the point of being able to change its behavior through hazing or location," he said, in a statement obtained by WVLT.
In response to these bear incursions, the TWRA has been advocating for hazing tactics to deter bears from settlements, issuing tools such as rubber buckshot to local residents for this purpose. After the bear's euthanization, the Appalachian Bear Rescue (ABR) took in the offspring, three cubs now named "Bubbles", "", and "Fuzzy". Further information provided by ABR highlighted that the cubs' mother was habituated to searching for food in garbage – behavior that sometimes prompted her to venture into human habitats, according to a report by WATE. The cubs are reportedly in good health and are under observation.
Despite some efforts by the city of Gatlinburg to curb bear interactions with humans, such as investing approximately $3 million in bear-proofing measures including the installation of more than 400 dumpsters, challenges persist. Greg Greico, Director of Operations for ABR, illuminated the deep-rooted nature of the problem in an interview with WBIR, "A lot of the bears that are in Gatlinburg, they've been raised amongst trash, Their mothers grew up on trash and are raising them on trash, and the trash is the crux of this issue here. Because these bears learn to find food from trash."
Contact with these wild creatures continues to be an issue, as TWRA recommends the public to actively "haze" bears in an attempt to discourage repeated visits to particular locales, employing adaptations like rubber buckshot to ward them off. This year alone, ABR has taken up the mantle of caring for 20 young bears, indicating an ongoing struggle between wildlife preservation and human expansion. Despite facing difficulties related to human-bear interactions, the dedication of organizations like ABR and initiatives by local governments represent careful steps toward a coexistence that respects the enigmatic allure of the Smokies' most recognizable inhabitants.
