Hopefully the boy will mend fine and not be too traumatized by the attack. Unfortunately a bear – the assumed attacker - was destroyed.

In May my son came home from his university for the weekend. As always, he came in to the house said hello, stretched, drank some water and went back out to get his bags. He came back in real quick telling me a young black bear was out on the driveway.

I snuck out and snap a few pictures of a “curious” 18-24 month old black bear looking at me from around the corner. I then called our state game and fish people (no easy task though thanks to a professional 911 county operator we finally got hold of someone that night). Ultimately, the young bear was captured and relocated. We live in rural Washington State.

With nearly 35 years in the NPS I only head one close encounter with black bears. I worked a bear jams in South Yellowstone NP in the early ‘70’s. A lot of the people exhibited some really strange and dangerous “behavior.” People, way too many people, lack a general awareness of what’s going on around them. The parks are not unfenced, open air zoos.

I agree with Bob. I live at the Foothills of the N. Ga. Mountains. While I've never came in close contact with a bear, we do have deer that visit our home. People that visit with nature need to understand it's not like walking around in the city. The animals are in their "home" territory. Stay alert of your surroundings, not only with your eyes, but with smell. Most wild animals have their own scent that you can smell if you are alert. I know the boy is just a child, but they should be educated also.

It is unfortunate the "alledged bear" was killed. I'm sure, and hope, the Rangers done what they thought was best. As a nature lover, I've learned to respect the animals and enjoy them at the same time. After all, what would the world be like without them.

why did they feel the need to kill this black bear? They people were in the bear's territory, he was just being protective. They are always so quick to kill wildlife instead of trapping and relocating. I feel they were wrong in what they did, because they are saying they are going to do a necropsy to see if this is the bear that attacked the boy?? Well how will they tell that? I would love to know. After all this, they may have killed the wrong bear, How very Sad.

I was in that part of the park last Wednesday on the 6th of Aug. We also encountered a small black bear that
acted strange. We did not approach the bear, he approached us. He was not afraid of anyone and he did come after us. In fact, I have 2 nice scratches on my car from him. I really am not worried about my car but of the safety of the bears and the people. I am also a nature lover but something was wrong with that bear. We saw 6 other bears while we were down there last week including a mother with her 2 cubs and they were not aggressive like the small bear we encountered. We also saw 2 copperhead snakes in Cades Cove that they captured while we were there to relocate them so I know they relocate bears also. Don't be so quick to judge.The bear also came after the ranger who is there to protect the animals as well as the humans. I did report my incident to the rangers and they contacted me as soon as they got the paper work. I have a picture of the bear that came after us so that may help them find out if it was the same. Remember, the rangers are there to protect and I'm sure you would appreciate that if you were the victim.

I wonder how many of us know what strange behavior from a bear is. We don't hang out with them all day, and most of us are not reasearchers in that field. Killing the animal was excessive. Humans keep encroaching on their lands to build homes, ranches, cottages, we hunt, bike, hike and poach. How about we let them live their lives without disturbance from us. Glad the boy is ok, he was lucky the bear was still a young.

I get really tired of reading posts that "defend" the animals more than "human life & safety". YES, I agree, all of us who enjoy observing wildlife need to be VERY careful ... especially in National & other Parks where the wildlife can become accustomed to people. It is indeed a sad affair when an animal has to be killed because someone wasn't following the rules or being respectful of the wildlife's habitat (ie keeping our food in appropriate containers, etc.).

BUT, when there are "unprovoked" attacks on humans (such as this case with the black bear and the 8 yr old, charging the rangers (who KNOW how to act around wildlife), etc), the top & only priority should be to protect the people. When relocation isn't possible, because of an animal's aggressive behavior, then we need to respect the decision of the experts and not be so critical! There are indeed instances, where the only course of action is to kill the animal (ie, the bear in this story, zoo tigers who escape & attack people, etc.).

Respectfully submitted.

(my favorite hobby -- observing & photographing wildlife)

This is a general comment. I am in no way saying this child provoked the situation. I've visited this area many times and have encountered bears several times. I've heard stories about people leaving food out and/or not latching trash containters so they could attract bears. I've witnessed a few dumpster diving bears and they act pretty fearless of humans. Why do people leave food traps? I'm not sure if they're hoping to get a photo on vacation or what. But, I believe this is what helps to create agressive bear behavior near humans. In Cade's Cove, I've seen people stop their cars and jump out with their cameras to get as close as possible to capture a bear photo. I think people need to be more respectful of nature, but I also agree that if relocation isn't a possibility, the animal should be destroyed for safety reasons. It's sad, but the behavior most likely will not change once they're agressive.

Unfortunately these things tend to happen. What i'd like to know is, where were the parents when this happened?

Myself, my fiancee and our 5 year old daughter stayed at Leconte Lodge and hiked it via the Alum Cave Trail on July 31st. We never let our daughter out of our site, because nature, although beautiful is very dangerous. I'm just glad the boy didn't suffer severe injuries.

"Remember, if you carry it in, carry it out"

And where do you live? Do you think that at one time your space did not belong to the animals?
OK for you but no one else?
While I am not a wildlife specialist, I think many people who visit the Smokys and have been fortunate enough to see bears as I have a few time, know the difference betwee agressive and passive!
Don't be so quick to judge.

I hope that this situation doesn't keep people from going and enjoying Cades Cove. This attack really saddened me, a young child playing in the water being attacked. I should first say I wish a speedy recovery to the child and his father. This being said, my family was at Cades Cove at the begining of July and August, and we encountered bears both time. While there in July, we stopped to see what everyone was looking at. It was, what I considered to be a little bear (Living in the West Virginia Mountains, bears in this area seem to be alot larger 200-600 pounds). The bear was grazing in a field and eating berries. We stood what I considered to be a safe distance, since we were at one of the homesteads. And to my surprise, a bunch of these nut cases went out into the field taking pictures, at maybe 10-15 feet from the bear. It sure didn't take long for them to scatter when the bear stood up on his hind legs. When we were the in July, the ranger said they have been in a drought (the worse in 100 years). So it wouldn't be advised to let kids play in the water, if there is no water in the mountains the bears are going to be coming out of the hills to get some. Both times we were there this year, we saw bears in areas where streams were.

Park Rangers are quick to tell you to keep your children and any pets close when bears are around. Where were the parents? It's unfortunate that a bear had to lose it's life because of careless humans. These people should be ashamed of themselves for not following the most basic rules while visiting the Park. We hiked Rainbow Falls in June and also encounterd a black bear on the trail. We stood back, waited for him to finish eating insects in a downed tree - we took beautiful pictures of him - he went his way - we went ours. We respected his space and never felt even remotely threatened.
I'm sorry a child was injured. But I'm also sorry a bear had to be destroyed in the very environment which is supposed to protect him.

Trish,

I'm not sure we can rush to judgment on what the parents did or didn't do. Obviously, they were close enough nearby that the father could rush to his son's rescue. Too, rangers who responded noted that the bear charged them, as well, so merely standing and watching from a distance might not have worked in this case.

I hiked the same trail in early August and the thickness of the vegetation, the way the landscape rises and falls, and the boulders could very well have hidden the bear from the family until it was too late.

This bear weighed 55 pounds. A young male like this would not be aggressive toward another bear weighing 100 or 150 pounds. It would defer and retreat. It would know perfectly well that a larger bear could be dangerous.

A small bear would be delighted to find a fawn curled up in the grass, would attack it, kill it and eat it, but it would know that a full-grown deer is beyond its ability - the adult deer can stomp & kick dangerously, and bucks have head-mounted weapons.

Yet the bear in this case showed no 'respect' for adult humans who towered far above it (bears are impressed by height), and who outweighed it 3 or 4 times. That's not natural, and it's not good.

In the world of carnivores & omnivores, all other animals are either 'opportunities' or 'hazards'. There is no middle ground in nature. Any other creature that is not a danger, is an opportunity, including humans.

The only natural roles available to animals are those of prey, or predator. 'Being nice' is something that humans work at, but for wild animals it is entirely alien. That we are able to view & photograph a bear on the landscape being a bear - and ignoring us - does not mean the bear is being nice.

The assumption that if we do not bother a carnivore, it will not bother us, is a serious fallacy. The further we go with the idea that viewing & photographing carnivorous wildlife as though they are trees or rock formations or fallen-down pioneer cabins, the more difficult & costly it will be to correct the error.

It is important that bears be concerned & worried about humans, that they are aware of the capabilities of humans, because if they are not then they will gradually come to view us as opportunities. It would be much better if we begin earlier to form a more natural relationship with bears, than waiting until the necessity is forced upon us.

In a healthy, natural world, you must be able to stalk a bear and conceal your presence from it, in order to view it & photograph it. You must be able to move stealthily and undetected through the landscape to see carnivores.

That's how nature really operates, and anything else is not natural ... not healthy, and in the long run, not stable and won't last.

Ted et al,

Park rangers initially estimated the bear weighed 55 pounds. It later came in at 86 pounds, still probably too small to take on an adult.

Dear JoAnn,

Please contact me at about your visit to the Rainbow Falls Trails. I'm doing research on bear attacks in the Smokies.

Tommy

Ummm, the bear was in people territory. Bears are not landowners.

You're lucky if you've had only one encounter with a black bear. Unfortunately, you do not live near the Smoky Mountains where there are WAY TOO MANY bears!!! The density of the black bear population in the park is approximately 2 per square mile now. That can not be healthy for bears and is certainly not safe for hikers. I've been to the park 3 times since moving to Georgia from the Midwest a few months ago. I love hiking, but have already had 2 close (less than 30 ft.) encounters with full-grown black bears on designated hiking trails in the park and have seen at least 20 more from a greater than 30 foot distance. These bears are, in no way, afraid of humans.

The first bear was not aggressive. My boyfriend and I were caught near the summit of the uncharacteristically deserted Chimney Tops in a thunderstorm. I was eager to get back to the car, but we had to wait about 45 minutes for a full-grown bear to get off the trail directly ahead. Eventually, he receded about 15-20 ft. back into the foliage just to the side of the trail. He turned and watched as we quickly passed, but, despite our making loud noises, did not flee the scene.

The second bear was a mother and two cubs on the heavily visited Laurel Falls trail. This one growled at hikers. We turned back, along with a group of about 20 people, because we had already hiked 9.6 miles that day and were just too tired to deal with a bear. Back in the parking lot, we heard rumors that the bear had run at a mother and baby in a stroller.

Most unnerving to me, though, was the seven (yes seven!) bears we had seen in a group earlier that day on the comparatively isolated trail to Ramsey Falls. There were a lot of food wrappers, beer bottles, and even a Kentucky Fried Chicken Bucket left behind on the trail, so it's no surprise that there were bears in the area.

We also saw two smaller bears from a distance at the Rainbow Falls Trail......... exactly 4 days before a young boy was attacked by a yearling on the same trail.

I have read that some of the deterrents (ie. non-lethal bullets) park rangers have been using have been making the bears more aggressive and that noise does not frighten many bears because a significant number of them have been found to have very poor hearing.

And yes, you're absolutely correct that people don't always know how to behave around wildlife, but to imply that people are being attacked because of their own carelessness or other actions that provoke or entice bears is unfair. Often, people are being attacked because of OTHER people's actions or the simple fact that bears have too much contact with people in this part of the country and are not inclined to avoid humans.

I would absolutely love to hike the Appalachian Trail through the park, but even with bear spray, I have my reservations. I'm afraid the rapidly increasing threat of violent bear attacks may make the trip just too dangerous.

They have tried relocating bears in Great Smoky several times, and the bears always return to the place from which they were taken. This bear was aggressive. I hate killing animals too, but the bears are overpopulating the park. It's time allow very limited and cautious bear hunting.

Anonymous,

You provide an interesting & instructive account. Thank you.

When I was a kid on the Olympic Peninsula in '50s & '60s, everyone liked to have a 'bear-story'. Most of them began by the teller holding up the thumb & index-finger with a gap of 1 or 2 tenths of inch between them.

"Yep, it was out there, oh, 400, maybe 600 yards", thumb & index-finger bobbing up & down, "moving at around 40 mph straight up that steep hill through impenetrable brush like it wasn't there. He musta went airborne when he cleared over the top."

That's basically all anyone ever saw of a bear - a tiny black speck near the limits of vision, retreating at its panic-maximum speed. If you watched the black speck for as much as a full second, that was an unusually long sighting.

The reason bears acted like that, of course, is they were routinely hunted.

Today, Olympic Nat'l Park people are chewing their nails to the quick, getting ulcers worrying when the first Olympic bear-attack will suck them into the developing hurricane that now threats to ravage wildlife management professionals & institutions all across North American. They're in denial, their heads in the sand. See no evil, Hear no evil, Speak no evil.

Even quite recently, I would have said, "No, though hunting carnivores would do the trick alright, I can't see them coming around to it".

Now, though, I definitely can see it, and I don't think it's very far off. I now think that the situation with bear & cougar has been allowed to degenerate to such a state that it is now all but inevitable the Parks will be forced to embrace hunting against their own bias & prejudice, and weather the withering flak they will get from anti-hunting allies among environmentalists.

I don't understand why there are so many black bear attacks these days. There are bears in my area in CT and I won't let my 6 year old play outdoors because of recent sightings. CT does not allow bear hunting like our neighboring state, Massachusettes and although I have always felt that wildlife should be left alone, I am starting to have another opinion. Predatory Black bears who are not afraid of humans are a threat to our physical and emotional stability. Relocation doesn't seem to work because the bears make their way back all too soon. In my state an 83 year old man is in jail because he shot a bear who was in his back yard. He is old and was terrified because despite making noise to shu the bear away, the bear stood his ground and would not leave thus the man resorted to his primal instinct for survival. I am starting to wonder which animal has more rights and why.

Anonymous Sept 12 laments:

"I don't understand why there are so many black bear attacks these days."

Mama bears no longer know that humans are dangerous, because they are no longer hunted.

Smart environmentalists ought to consider how controlled hunting can best be reestablish & managed, to promote their own preferred outcome. Otherwise, we may see the situation with large carnivores deteriorate to a point where the resolution of the problem no longer includes environmentalists or their preferences.

Specifically, if bears within a region begin to actively hunt humans (this is where the changes in bear-behavior are headed), then wildlife management professionals & agencies will probably have to completely eradicate the bear-population from the entire region.

Do keep a close eye on your 6-year-old. The situation is not getting better - it's getting worse. Consider getting a 'good' dog. You don't need a 'kill-dog', but you don't want a 'silly' dog either. Dogs are great for scenting & hearing animals off in the brush, and react especially well toward bears. A good fence is a big help, too, though costly. Many 6-year-olds love dogs.

Lastly, I would recommend buying a rifle and taking Hunting & Firearms training (which is readily available to you), even if you have no intention of hunting. That way, you are knowledgeable and have the tools to do what needs to be done, in an emergency.

Good luck & stay safe. :-)

I live nearby and from what I read and heard on the local news, the little boy had been eating KFC chicken and had wiped his hands on his clothing. That would indicate to me the bear thought the little boy was a food source and was not attacking a human for the sake of attacking a human. His father was there and took on the bear as well to protect his son, but at that point the bear was probably thinking he was fighting something else for his food source.