When a bear broke into a family’s tent while camping in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, it injured both a mother and a child.
According to a National Park Service press release, an early Sunday morning interaction between a bear and a family of five people and their dog occurred as the family was resting in their tent. The bear scratched a three-year-old girl and her mother while they were inside the tent.
According to the authorities, the father was successful in driving the bear away from the campground and out of the tent “but only after repeated tries.” Both the mother and infant were transported to the hospital and treated for scratches on their heads while there.
When park rangers came to the scene, they questioned the father as well as other campers and gathered evidence, such as bear tracks, to help them determine the kind of animal that caused the event, according to WYFF.
The bear was successfully captured by the rangers. The researchers described the behavior of a bear who had been “food-conditioned.” Rangers were confident in their ability to identify the bear engaged in the occurrence based on the bear’s behavior as well as its physical traits, according to WYFF.
“The bear weighed roughly 350 pounds, which is unusual for this time of year,” said Lisa McInnis, the National Park Service’s chief of resource management, in a statement. “This demonstrates that the bear had prior and most likely constant access to non-natural food sources.” “The bear was discovered in a distant region of the park,” the author writes. “The aroma of dog food was predominant in the area all around the campground, and it is conceivable that this is what drew the bear to the location in the first place.” Under these conditions, the resulting threat to humans cannot be permitted.
According to WBIR, the bear was apprehended and subsequently put to death.
If you are attacked by a bear, the National Park Service suggests that you defend yourself with any object you have handy, while bearing in mind that the bear may see you as prey.
