“Protect Yourself,” Says The National Park Service
Located along the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, the Great Smoky Mountains are a National Park within the crest of the Appalachian Mountains.
The park is the “most-visited national park in the United States,” the park rangers note, but it is also home to approximately 1,900 American black bears.
Over the past week, there have been six reported encounters with bears in the Great Smoky Mountains. At least two of those six incidents saw the bears act in a hostile manner, with one bear even biting a hiker.
On the weekend of April 11 and April 12, park rangers reported there were three incidents with “an aggressive black bear” on Abrams Falls Trail, “including one case where the bear bit a visitor who entered a closed area,” a news release stated.
Since then, the Abrams Falls Trail has been reopened after days without observed bear activity.
Then, this past weekend (April 18 and April 19), there were three more bear encounters on the Ramsey Cascades Trail. In two of those encounters, “a bear approached visitors and took two backpacks,” while the third incident saw a bear display “aggressive behavior” as it “briefly chased a group” of hikers.
As a result of those incidents, Ramsey Prong Road and Ramsey Cascades Trail are presently closed to the public.
The park rangers noted:
“During spring, black bear activity increases in Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Currently, mother bears are emerging from their dens with young cubs searching for limited early‑season food sources. Because this is a sensitive time for mother bears and cubs, getting too close can cause stress and lead to unsafe encounters.”
The news release added, “The National Park Service asks visitors to help protect yourself, others and wildlife by giving bears space, storing trash and food responsibly and staying alert on trails.”
Providing a few safety tips regarding bear encounters, the park rangers urged hikers to not feed bears and to remain at least 50 yards away from bears, and reminded them that dogs are only permitted on the Gatlinburg Trail and Oconaluftee River Trail.
See the park’s full statement on the recent incidents with bears, as well as additional safety tips, here:
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