Tennessee Bear Attack Originally posted 4/06
I’ve been out in the woods chasing turkeys but even I heard about the horrible story of the bear mauling in Cherokee National Forest. I can not imagine what this family is going through and my heart goes out to them.
[quote] The 6-year-old girl killed by a black bear was a nature lover and had made many visits to the mountaintop swimming hole where the animal attacked her, her mother and 2-year-old half brother, relatives said Monday.
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I know that at times I’ve been in situations that could of taken a bad turn. I’ve been charged by moose before and I like to give wild animals space so as not to be threatened. Although black bear attacks are rare they do take place and fatalities from these attacks as we know do happen. This is only the 2nd attack in modern history in Tennessee and that too was a fatal attack.
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GATLINBURG – Officials at the Great Smoky Mountain National Park released their final report last week on the May 2000 death of Sevier County teacher Glenda Ann Bradley.
Bradley, who was regarded as an experienced hiker in the Smoky Mountains, was believed to have been attacked by two bears during a hike along the Little River Trail at the intersection with Goshen Prong Trail. Rangers with GSMNP later arrived on the scene and killed both the sow and the cub believed to have attacked Bradley. It marked the first time in the history of the National Park Service that someone had died as a result of a black bear attack.
Officials say their investigation and the autopsy results performed by East Tennessee State University’s College of Medicine “confirmed the preliminary findings that Bradley died of injuries due to bear attack.” The manner of death was ruled as an accident. [/quote]
At this point in time we do not have all the information in this attack to see what the causes of it may have been. Evidence collected at the scene will allow officials through the use of dna determine if the bear capture and killed Sunday was the bear responsible for this mauling. [quote] Animal experts from the University of Tennessee’s College of Veterinary Medicine will perform a necropsy today (around 2:00 p.m. EDT) on a black bear suspected of killing a young girl in the Cherokee National Forest and seriously injuring her mother and brother. Authorities believe the male bear they killed Sunday is the same animal that attacked the family near Benton. But they will continue to trap bears in the area where the attack occurred until they can confirm the bear’s identity, said Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency spokesman Dan Hicks.
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Additionally beyond verifying they have the right bear they will also be looking for disease or injuries. [quote] The first priority will be to test the animal’s brain for signs of rabies, said Dr. Linden Craig, a pathobiologist at the U.T. facility where the bear’s remains were taken Sunday.
“If it doesn’t have rabies, hopefully we can find something else wrong with it that could explain its behavior,” she said. [/quote]
Preliminary reports from the attack site paint a horrific situation [quote] the place where Susan Cenkus, her two-year-old son, Luke, six-year-old daughter, Elora, and others were playing when a killer black bear appeared from the brush.
According to Dan Hicks, a Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency officer, the bear went straight for the Luke and picked the baby up by the head with its mouth.
As with most mother’s, Susan’s maternal instinct took over. She fought the bear while the other adults yelled and threw sticks and stones. The bear then grabbed and dragged Susan about fifty yards away.
During all the chaos, her Elora ran off.
While Susan and her son received medical treatment, Thursday evening search and rescue crews spread out for the missing girl. They found her about 100 yards from the falls with the bear hovering over her. The search team shot at the bear as it ran off, but Elora was already dead.
“We can only theorize that she may have been running in fear, and at the same time, the bear used the same exit route and came into contact with her possibily running, which would simulate a possible prey-like situation,” said Hicks.
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Great Smoky National Park offers some advice on what to do when meeting a bear.
[quote] Bears in the park are wild and their behavior is sometimes unpredictable. Although extremely rare, attacks on humans have occurred, inflicting serious injuries and death. Treat bear encounters with extreme caution and follow these guidelines:
If you see a bear remain watchful. Do not approach it. If your presence causes the bear to change its behavior (stops feeding, changes its travel direction, watches you, etc.)—you’re too close. Being too close may promote aggressive behavior from the bear such as running toward you, making loud noises, or swatting the ground. The bear is demanding more space. Don’t run, but slowly back away, watching the bear. Try to increase the distance between you and the bear. The bear will probably do the same.
If a bear persistently follows or approaches you, without vocalizing, or paw swatting, try changing your direction. If the bear continues to follow you, stand your ground. If the bear gets closer, talk loudly or shout at it. Act aggressively and try to intimidate the bear. Act together as a group if you have companions. Make yourselves look as large as possible (for example, move to higher ground). Throw non-food objects such as rocks at the bear. Use a deterrent such as a stout stick. Don’t run and don’t turn away from the bear. Don’t leave food for the bear; this encourages further problems.
Most injuries from black bear attacks are minor and result from a bear attempting to get at people’s food. If the bear’s behavior indicates that it is after your food and you’re physically attacked, separate yourself from the food and slowly back away.
If the bear shows no interest in your food and you’re physically attacked, fight back aggressively with any available object–the bear may consider you as prey! Help protect others, report all bear incidents to a park ranger immediately. Above all, keep your distance from bears!
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There is nothing to suggest that this family took any added risks or made poor choices that contributed to this problem. Every thing I’ve read suggests that they were outdoor types who knew what they were doing. This I guess is what makes stories like this and the Glenda Bradley story so disturbing because anyone of us could find us in a similar situation.
Now I have witnessed many folks taking dumb risks in regards to wild animals to get that great photo. I think some times people inside a National Park think the animals are really tame and just on display. Back a few years ago park rangers arrested a GSMNP visitor who attacked a black bear that was attempting to eat a whitetail fawn. Enjoy nature but also respect it and the danger it can present.
Links
News Stories
http://monroe.xtn.net/index.php?table=news&template=news.view.subscriber&newsid=129938
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/04/17/bear.attack.ap/
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/US/04/14/bear.attack.ap/index.html
http://www.newschannel9.com/engine.pl?station=wtvc&id=4072&template=breakout_story1.shtml&dateformat=%25M+%25e,%25Y
http://www.state.tn.us/twra/beartrap.html
2000 GSMNP Fatal Bear Attack
http://www.imagesbuilder.com/gsmnp/bear-attack-in-smokies.html
http://www.imagesbuilder.com/gsmnp/death-caused-by-bears.html
Bear Links
http://www.nps.gov/grsm/pphtml/highlights383.html
http://fieldtripearth.org/div_index.xml?id=4
http://fieldtripearth.org/div_index.xml?id=4
[...] but not outside what would be considered typical behavior. There have been other attacks including 2 fatal encounters since 2000. Telling people these are rare no longer seems like a reasonable explanation. Bear populations need [...]
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