CNF

8/7/24

BLOUNT COUNTY – Three more bear cubs have been delivered to Appalachian Bear Rescue after their mother was put down because the mother had lost her fear of humans.

Both Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency  and ABR received numerous calls regarding the bears from someone vacationing in a Blount County neighborhood with both permanent residents and rentals the neighborhood.

ABR has emphasized the importance of locking vehicles and keeping car windows completely closed due to the presence of bears. However, despite people being advised multiple times to lock their vehicles ABR was told the bears continuously opened and entered unlocked vehicles. The bears also damaged a grill on a deck.

TWRA officers and biologists were at the Airbnb on August 5th waiting for the bear family when it returned.  ABR reported that their efforts were unsuccessful when they attempted to get the bears to leave.  The mother bear would come within inches of people in search of human food, indicating that she had been hand-fed according to ABR. As a result, the decision was made to put the female bear down and trap her cubs for transport to ABR.

“We know that you don’t like reading that this has happened again. We can’t believe we are writing about this again. It makes us and our wildlife agency partners sick and frustrated. We know you will ask why the family could not be relocated. There is no place in Tennessee remote enough to take a bear that no longer has any fear of people. Some point out that Great Smoky Mountains National Park has hundreds of thousands of acres. That is true. Many of those acres are filled with backcountry campsites and hiking trails that visitors enjoy every day. Remember, our Park is the most visited National Park in the United States. Also, most of those acres are not accessible by vehicle. Even if there was a spot far, far away, you can’t hike to that spot with a large bear and her three cubs. You certainly can’t relocate these bears and this behavior to someone else’s back yard.”

The cubs, named Velma, Daphne and Scooby are the second group of cubs in August to arrive at ABR after another mother was euthanized due to a loss of fear of humans. The rescue also now has 24 cubs in its care. Another cub was also brought to the rescue on August 5 after its mother was hit by a car.