PLEASE NOTE: The attached photos include the recent black bear spotting’s in DeKalb County and several bears located on person property in the downtown entrance to Gatlinburg, Tennessee in November, 2022.
There was nothing more beautiful than seeing his perfectly formed bear footprints on the muddy ground. For one brief shining moment, the surroundings were snow-covered quiet and peacefully untouched.
He, along with his ancestors, recently visited DeKalb County, Tennessee, unannounced and searching for any food group available and plentiful. I named him “Beary” for no particular reason. I had the pleasure of meeting him through the print and broadcast media. Within the realm of spontaneity, his growl was worse than his bite. He looked horrendously frightening but would not bother you if you would not bother him! The latter is important for the survival of both species. Beary’s local landing location was interspersed among Dowelltown, Liberty, Possum Hollow and Snow Hill.
The same characteristics and warnings were applicable to the families of black bears who enjoyed their lunch at our Gatlinburg rental house, which was located within a stone’s throw from the main Parkway. Never mind that their travels were in the midst of all downtown traffic while nonchalantly meandering to and from.
As children, Lucy and I relished our family weekend trips to the Smoky Mountains. Always, we brought our maternal grandmother, Clara Parker, her very own stuffed tiny black bear, who always wore a smile on his face and was wearing a red bow around his neck.
Why was there a black bear (Ursus americanus) spotted recently in the western section of DeKalb County? It is not a random occurrence. It’s just that we hear about these incidences more often. Next paragraph.
“As bear and human populations increase and more persons move near public lands and bear-inhabited areas, bear-human interactions are increasing creating potentially dangerous situations,” wrote www.tn.gov.
It is requested and highly recommended by the game and wildlife commission that you leave all bears alone. Yes – they look sweet and gentle, but they’re not. Should you be approached by Beary or any other bear, make loud sounds and high vocal noises. The method is to scare them away from you. Never run from a bear encounter. In our amazement and total disregard of safety, my family and I sat mesmerized by the flock of black bears licking the hamburger meat off of our outdoor grill. They did look cute, especially the cubs, and there were many. You wonder how something so cute could kill with one bite! Remember that cubs weigh around 100 pounds until growing into adulthood, when their weight ascends to around 600 pounds.
Descriptively, black bears are most active at dawn and dusk. They have average eyesight, fantastic hearing, and a great sense of smell, which is 100 times greater than our own and seven times greater than a bloodhound. The smell of food draws them from near and far.
According to local Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency District Officer, Tony Cross, Beary just appeared without fanfare and left without fanfare. But it should be noted that bears in DeKalb County once were a meat source for the local citizens. And the bear population was plentiful then. Time, especially through hunters and other bears, has effaced its current existence, especially with unregulated hunting and killing.
In the “History of DeKalb County,” Thomas G. Webb wrote “There is little evidence to know what life was like in the early 1800s around the Caney Fork and Smith Fork area. People of this time were great hunters and deer furnished the greatest part of their meals, though some turkey, bear, squirrel and rabbit were consumed.”
DeKalb County land was prime for hunting in the earliest years. Webb continued writing, “In the lonely woods of DeKalb County, specifically at Mine Lick Creek, were filled with all sorts of game. During the winter of 1780, a party of 12 men from Nashville made a canoe hunting trip up the Caney Fork River. They brought back ‘105 BEARS, 75 buffalos, and more than 80 deer.’” Our ancestors hunted bears for meat, fat, and heavy hides. And before then, the Indians were the prime hunters in the county.
Continuing, Poss said it had been about five years since a black bear had been spotted anywhere in the confines of DeKalb County. He said that in about two years, this same cub will have grown into a large black bear and it would be returning to this area and Cross would be able to see him again – all grown up. His anticipation was sensed in his excited mannerisms and vocal delivery.
“Black bears are medium-sized mammals that can weigh up to 600 pounds and stand up to 3 feet tall,” wrote www.wikipedia.com. “Adult males are typically larger than females.”
In Tennessee, it is unlawful to harm or kill a bear and there are 450,413 acres of bear sanctuaries in the state, including the Great Smoky Mountains.
The law pertaining to black bears is from the Tennessee Code Annotated #70-4-16 (2021): “It is unlawful to hunt, pursue, capture, possess, transport or store any deer, wild turkey, BEAR or wild elk, male or female, in this state, at any time or in any area other than at times and within the area designed by the commission in its promulgation of open season, as provided by this title.”
As of January, 2024, there are an estimated 5,000 to 6,000 black bears in Tennessee, with the majority living in the eastern part of the state. Did you know there was a bear hunting season in Tennessee in the 1970s? There are around 1,900 bears in the protected area of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. My family and I saw seven of them.
As of this writing, Beary has journeyed home, wherever that is. If you see him, or any of his relatives, please don’t hurt them. They’re just hungry and tired. You know how that feels. And Tony Cross is waiting for Beary to reappear.
