Gatlinburg Hotel Guests Caught Feeding Black Bear: Watch Video

Video captured at a Great Smoky Mountains resort shows people feeding a black bear, an illegal activity in Gatlinburg.

In the video, one group leans out onto a balcony above LeConte Creek to watch a bear on the rocks below, while others watch from their balconies. One person begins tossing food from a bag to the bear, which stretches on its hind legs to reach the balcony.

The person taking the video from across the creek points to another bear nearby.

The feeding in the video, dated June 25, came after other dangerous interactions between black bears and humans at Anakeesta Mountaintop Adventure Park and outside the Bearskin Lodge in Gatlinburg. A bear matching the description of the bear that entered the Anakeesta concession stand has since been euthanized.

In 2000, Gatlinburg banned the intentional feeding of black bears. Violation of the law is a Class C misdemeanor and is punishable by a fine of up to $50, $180.50 court costs, and possible community service.

In such cases, the punishment for bears is much more severe: death.

“The survival rate of bears fed by humans is likely a fraction of that of wild bears that do not have repeated contact with humans,” the Tennessee Wildlife Agency website states. “Deliberately and accidentally feeding bears is socially irresponsible and results in conditioning and habituation of animals to humans.”

According to the website, when bears are fed by humans, they lose their natural fear of humans. “We cannot relocate a bear with this type of behavior, which is a direct result of people feeding bears,” Matthew Cameron, a spokesman for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, told Knox News in a June email, explaining why bears would be euthanized in such cases.

Residents of Gatlinburg and surrounding towns say they are frustrated by this kind of reckless behavior, which harms the health of native wildlife.

“We need to educate tourists and each other,” Sevierville resident Misty Lambert told Knox News. “We need to do better.”

Hayden Dunbar is the storyteller reporter. Email [email protected].

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