Posted on 09/12/2020 5:55:09 PM PDT by buckalfa
SWAIN COUNTY, N.C. (WATE) — Great Smoky Mountains National Park reports that rangers had to euthanize a bear after finding it scavenging on human remains that were reported by backpackers near Hazel Creek Trail and Backcountry Campsite 82 on Friday.
GSMNP officials report that on Friday afternoon, backpackers found human remains across the creek with a bear scavenging in the area, and they left to get cell coverage to report the incident to authorities right away.
Rangers and wildlife officers rushed to the scene after communication staff received the report just after 7 p.m.
When staff arrived at Backcountry Campsite 82 shortly after midnight, they confirmed the report of a deceased adult male; they also found a bear actively scavenging on the remains and euthanized the bear.
Rangers are working to notify next of kin, and as of right now the cause of death is unknown and this case remains under investigation.
GSMNP says that Back Country Campsite 82 and Hazel Creek Trail will remain closed until further notice between the juncture with Cold Springs Gap Trail and Welch Ridge Trail.
That’ll teach you there’s no such thing as a free lunch!
We have bears here wandering around in peoples yards and nobody thinks of what could happen. Until is does.
It’s all “State of Mind”,
.
Ask “Grizzly Man.”
.
Oh Wait,
Bad Cell Service too.
Every night at my house. They were determined to get in the garden the other night to molest the bee hive. They didn’t, my son scared the off with his Sig 40 cal. Do bears projectile s#!t in the garden through the chain link fence? Why yes they do.
Coincidently, yesterday I rode the tourist steam train that skirts Fontana Lake on its way to the Nantahala Outdoor Center. That area is remote. I cannot imagine how remote the back country in the area would be.
What you said. EASTERN black bears have never scared me (and I have always been careful not to let them get my food). That said, I once was bluff charged in GSMNP by a juvenile (about 200 lbs?) that did its best to take our lunches. It was definitely not scared of us. We finally ran it off. But before leaving, it first went to the spring where we were cooling our water bottles, and slashed them. Good times.
A fed bear is a dead bear.
I took a quick look on Google Maps - yes, Campsite #82 is quite remote. Even if one does take a boat across Fontana Lake, #82 is still a few miles north of the Lake, a bit over half way to the state line (depending on how the trails run, I suppose — I didn’t go that far with my “look”.)
One review says “great place for kids”. Well, I suppose, most summer days, anyway...
Yeeesshh...
Yes. The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad. A better than average train ride. Have done it twice. Enjoyed it. (My wife enjoyed it more than I did. That’s why we’ve done it twice.)
Did you enjoy the train ride? We ran out of time, both times we (my family) were in the area. But if we can get there again B4 I’m too decrepit...
(Shoot, I still have at least 20 places I want to visit that are not even 1/4 the distance from us as GSMNP.)
Shoot, the coroner will probably enjoy the challenge.
The poor rangers that have to bag him up...not so much.
Bear spray is just seasoning. Use a gun.
Had a black bear swim straight across a pond at us because he could smell our lunch. ~60 feet away as we beat feet. He probably got some lunch, we were so freaked we picked up our day packs and left fast, leaving who knows what behind.
I took my son and daughter across the Smokies on the Appalachian Trail three weeks ago and had an aggressive bear incident in one of the shelters. Two bear came into the site and started pawing at a couple of nearby tents, scaring the campers into the shelter. The bears followed them into the shelter (essentially open faced lean-tos with sleeping platforms) and started harassing us all. One camper sprayed a bear with bear spray and he backed off a bit. It took quite a bit of stomping, yelling, and throwing objects to get them to back off and go away.
I’m from Michigan and have seen my share of bear. These were particularly aggressive for blacks. The Smokies have had their share of incidents over the past few years. We had to cancel our last attempt two years ago because several shelters had been shut down due to another bear-related death making the trek between them too long (the Smokies don’t usually allow tent camping in non-COVID years).
What did you do when the bear charged you?
That’s beautiful territory but would be freaky out there alone and a bear tracking you for 6 miles.
That time I was not alone. I was supervising a forest monitoring team. An adult bear topped a ridge about 50 or so yards away from us at full speed. (If you don’t know, full speed for a bear is just about racehorse speed.) It was headed straight for one of my workers. I immediately ran toward it and picked up a limb on the way. (I was thinking, “What am I going to tell this worker’s parents?”) The bear came within about 15 feet of the worker and abruptly pulled up and stopped, and I showed up a second later. We had formed a triangle—the bear, me, and my worker—the triangle being perhaps 15 feet on a side. We didn’t move. The bear stood there for a minute or two sniffing the air. After a couple of minutes, it simply turned and walked away. I think that it didn’t realize at first that my worker was a human until it got almost on top of him. Bears’ have a fantastic sense of smell but very poor eyesight. I think that it thought at first that my worker was a different creature that would make an easy meal. It wasn’t until it was almost on top of him that it thought differently. Our hearts beat quickly for a bit. I still remember it clearly, although it has been more than 25 years ago.
I was at Shenandoah National Park when I had the encounters. The bear that followed me for six miles was in the remote, southern section of the Park. I had someone drop me off on Skyline Drive and I walked downhill to the boundary. For much of that distance, you could scarcely see 50 feet because of Rhododendron tangles or blackberry thickets. The spookiest part was when the vegetation was extremely thick, and the bear was little more than 25 feet away, and I still couldn’t see it.
The ride was enjoyable. The equipment is old as is the road bed, so the ride was a lumbering four hour journey. Great scenery, especially along the river rafting areas. If you are older, I do recommended first class passage. The GSMRR even pulled off the required social distancing and the oil burner steam engine was interesting. The best was simply the nostalgic memories from my childhood of riding the L&N Hummingbird from Cincinnati to Memphis.
The bears meal was kind enough to add some pepper.
Sister and BIL live up on mountain in Sevierville, TN, they worked 1 of the Lodges so they know the rules, before the Wildfire, signs posted every where not to approach or leave trash on back porch. Idiots ignored the signs. You don’t approach baby bears as mama is not far away.
We encroach on their habitat destroying dens and food supplies. They then come into human areas.
She has bad habit of feeding the local coons, got a real shock 1 morning 3 bears ripping up their cars. You can’t convince her not to feed the coons. She best learn as her very ill daughter with 2 kids had to move in, the eldest is 15, has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD)the girl not yet 10.
Holy krap! We’re at a Swain County camp ground RIGHT NOW. We’re a 12 hour hike from that campsite. And the wife wonders why I brought bear spray and a firestick with us.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.