3 Bears Euthanized After an Incident in Gatlinburg: Another Avoidable Event

Here we go again…

I was hoping to stay away from these stories in 2025, but this is where we are. Recently, three bears were euthanized after reports of a “disturbing incident involving a homeowner off the spur and just outside the Gatlinburg City limits. Before I get too perturbed, let me explain what happened, in case you didn’t hear the news reports.

TWRA ( Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency) representative, Matthew Cameron, said wildlife officers received a call shortly after 7:30 last Thursday evening about a woman being bitten and dragged from her porch. Sounds awful, right. Well…

Officials had already been to the residence, and when they arrived on the scene, they discovered a yearling in a trap they had set during a previous visit. An adult mother bear and her other yearling was nearby. This trap was set because the homeowner had left groceries in her car, resulting in the bears damaging the car to the extent of totaling it.

The frustrating and most irritating fact of all is the homeowner was checked out and found to have had zero. Yes, that’s right… zero injuries or bite marks. The truth? Well, according to Sevier County Sheriff, Michael Hodges, the bear became aggressive toward the homeowner, and when she backed away, fell down. So, essentially, it seems she exaggerated the event in the initial report, at the very least.

This really grinds my gears. I’m sorry if I get too opinionated, but this just reeks of irresponsibility and scapegoating. In the end, the woman wanted to use hyperbole, resulting in three more preventable bear deaths. That’s really all that needs said and written.

When bears become food-conditioned and habituated to human presence—especially in the cases of vehicle break-ins—relocation is no longer an option, and the difficult decision is made to euthanize. Again, I want to say this is a necessary evil, despite what you may think of the TWRA.

I don’t agree with all of their past actions, but in these cases, it’s done to ensure the safety of people and wildlife. And this is another case study of humans being the problem. This incident was absolutely avoidable, further reinforcing the necessity of both locals and tourists to be vigilant, responsible, and knowledgeable when it comes to bear safety.

The BearWise.org website is a fantastic resource for informing the public on the steps we all should take here in bear country to keep our black bears alive, so we can coexist. Let’s be better… please!

Thank you for reading and subscribing to this publication. I have some new experiences to share with you all real soon, so you’ll want to stay tuned for that and much more. I appreciate your continued kindness and support for my passion!