Nope, It Is Not a Large Dog

11/16/2013

It drizzled rain for the better part of Friday. Most of the snow has melted. The only problem we have now is the big bear that has become a "problem bear". He is a rather large bear and over the past week he has gone from roaming around camp at night to hanging out during the day. He is a stubborn bear that runs when we yell at him, but he doesn't seem too concerned. Unfortunately, we are going to have to catch him in our sturdy bear trap and let the Park Service guys do their job. They have been extremely successful in scaring the past bears to the point they do not come back around. That is the main objective for us all; keep the bears wild and scared of humans. Once the bear is caught, the park service will put him under, like at the dentist office. He will then get a health check. The only difference is when he wakes up, he will have a new earring. He will have a little hangover which will hopefully help him to realize he doesn't want any part of those two legged creatures. They are bad news. We will see what today brings. If everything works according to plan, he will be on his way to greener pastures, or should I say, redder ash berries.

Brooks

11/15/2013 11:56:01 pm

Can't wait to see y'all next October. My first climb, too!

Missy

11/16/2013 02:52:47 am

We did our first climb to the Lodge for an overnight stay this Oct. It was amazing. Hoping to do it again next year.

James

11/16/2013 12:00:37 am

Looking forward to our first trip in September also.

chris

11/16/2013 12:05:39 am

don't think its fair the bear is moved out of it's habitat, teach the people that come up there to NOT leave food out for them. and if the humans are caught, fine and remove them from the park! bears are doing what is natural, looking for food to prepare for winter. this is actually upsetting knowing yet another bear is going to be moved or put down because of human involvement

tomk in SC

11/16/2013 12:18:16 am

Actually, they generally do not MOVE them to another part of the park. As a result of the experience the bear chooses another venue, away from people. In this way bears stick to finding bear food instead of people food. Having said that, people that are careless about food ought to be heavily fined. Fed bear/dead bear is our fault, not the bears.

High On LeConte

11/16/2013 12:21:45 am

Chris, the bear is not removed from its habitat. The rangers will release him and if all goes accordingly, he runs as fast as he can away from camp. He will move on until he finds a place that is away from the temptations of easy food. This is the best thing that can happen to a bear that has learned bad habits. It will help him to resume his healthy diet of the local vegetation. Believe it or not, this will help save his life and help him live longer in the wild. Let me make one thing clear, he will NOT be put down.

chris

11/16/2013 12:22:10 pm

I know exactly what the park does to the bears. they move it to another location in another's bear territory or better yet closer to hunting areas. ive been around for awhile, watched 12 be removed from the cove. and yes if they keep coming back they ARE put down. 3 strikes in they are out, hence the reason for the tags on ears. since its a small area up there, I think those running the lodge should be more vigilant, a bear shouldn't have to be removed because humans once again have caused it to become a "nuisance bear" a "trouble bear", there is no such thing unless Humans are involved. after the elk being put down, its time the rangers go after the humans and leave the wildlife A Lone, this is their Home, WE are the invaders

High On LeConte

11/16/2013 11:17:33 pm

Chris, they do not remove him. When they are finished with their check up, they put him in a safe area where he can wake up safely with out hurting himself. They monitor him while he is waking up to make sure he is safe. As soon as that bear is awake, he scurries out of camp and we never see him again. I have witnessed over eleven of these. I have never seen them relocate a bear.

chris

11/17/2013 10:37:41 pm

finished with "check up"? you mean finished hazing it, removing a tooth so it will run away. I too know exactly what happens to these bears and it isn't nice for the bears. its called remove the humans from the bear's habitat so it can get it's berries and move on. this animal needs it's food, and it wont be allowed to get it because a selfish human wants to sleep in the middle of the park on a mountain. we have surrounded them, businesses make money off of them, isn't that enough? the bears MUST be tolerant of humans since we invade everywhere they try to live. we have taken their home and used it for our own pleasure, but the animals pay the price? if that bear is left ALONE, it will get it's berries and move on. and I don't trust the TWRA, I know how they work, and how they lie to keep the heat off of them. so let the bear be, let it get it's food. we know those cabins up there wont be removed because that dollar is more important then the wildlife. we had 12 bears "moved" out in the cove within a month and a half this year. if the excuse for moving an animal or putting it down is because that animal is tolerant of the human invaders, maybe it's time to remove the humans.

Paulrom

11/16/2013 01:36:39 am

And now the park service put down a young elk because he was not afraid of humans . They claim they had no choice .My question is why not give it to the Zoo. I know the bears and elk are more friendly than the park rangers I've met.

Kent

11/16/2013 02:22:41 am

Sad news about the young elk. I just saw that viral video of the elk/human encounter yesterday. Odds are it's humans' fault that it got so tame in the first place. Too many tourists try to get too close to creatures in the park, and in doing so, they create a situation where the animals become less apprehensive about being around people. In the end, it's usually stupid people who are at fault.

Unfortunately, stories like this get me started on just how much disdain I have for a great percentage of the human population and how utterly self-absorbed and ignorant they are. I'll stop there before I get myself in trouble.

Let's hope this bear learns to fear us again and lives a long, healthy life in his natural habitat.

scott

11/16/2013 03:53:10 am

Hey, whatever happened to "walk with the animals, talk with the animals"? Pisses me off they put that elk down. Perhaps some of the human herd needs to be thinned out when they get too close to our wild neighbors. Elk could very well have been relocated

Mark T Rice

11/16/2013 12:51:49 am

I wonder if the problem bears couldn't be fitted with a shock collar that conditions them to stay away from an area. A radio fence transmitter could be used to activate the collar if the bear approaches. The collar could be designed to eventually fall off after an arbitrary amount of time sufficient to condition the bear.

Debi

11/16/2013 11:13:59 am

Just like a dog shock collar they need to be taken off and recharged. I was wondering who is going to take it off and recharge it. Any volunteers? Sorry couldn't help myself. Hope all goes well Allyson.

Tony Ga

11/16/2013 11:15:51 am

LOL

Robin Oakley

11/16/2013 01:08:41 am

As we can see what happened yesterday with the elk; there is no guarantee that park personnel won't euthanize the bear.

Paulrom

11/16/2013 01:39:58 am

So right robin see my reply above

kathy

11/16/2013 02:05:04 am

Unfortunately animals become habituted in areas where humans aren't threat. And there are soooo many humans they see. The elk was to friendly w people, elk can easily kill people, would you want him living in some habitat? Its hard BC the NP affords all the protection which gets animals habituated. Great they can try aversion therapy on the bear. Would be great to have a elk hunt even if only rubber bullets they arent living normal lives w out the predators or fear of humans.

Madge @ The View From Right Here link

11/16/2013 03:07:12 am

Bears that get too friendly are dangerous... hope he moves on soon!

Brian N bama

11/16/2013 08:35:44 am

Allyson, just keep him away from my cabin thursday if you don't mind. Doesn't look you are going to get me my snow this year. Oh well, maybe it will be clear.

Kent

11/16/2013 10:23:58 am

You never know, Brian. Extended forecasts are notoriously inaccurate. You may get lucky. I'll keep a good thought. Hope you have a wonderful time. :)

RJnLA

11/16/2013 10:08:49 am

I know the rangers said this was not the first problem they had with this elk and people and this guy did nothing wrong. REALLY ?? So this IDIOT just decided to get out of his car and sit on the edge of the road, unaware there was an elk around ? And then the elk "snuck" up and surprised him and he was so frozen with fear he couldn't move. Give me a break. He should be fined and banned from all np's for life. But that's just my opinion for what it's worth. I hope the bear learns his lesson and doesn't suffer the same fate as the elk because of another IDIOT in the park.

scott

11/17/2013 05:56:46 am

well said

Bec

11/16/2013 03:30:41 pm

Why is it that the park does not enforce fines to the extent that irresponsible visitors get he message that it will not be tolerated to engage wildlife. Why are they so afraid to enforce their own rules. I bet if fines were given and published it would be a different story.

ElConquistador

11/17/2013 03:07:18 am

Glad to see everybody is paying attention. Since some of you can't figure it out, we'll try to help. Obviously, no one at LeConte is feeding the bear. If you bothered to read the last week or so you would see that they kept trying to scare it away. Also, are you going to ask the bear who fed it? Or maybe fine everybody that has come up LeConte in the last two weeks?
So he's not scared of humans now, the thing to do is trap it, put him to sleep for a few hours, check him out, and scare him off for good. Nobody is killing the bear, unless he keeps coming back. Then sadly he would need to be put down. But that is for another day, not right now.
Hope that clears it up for the people that can't seem to read, but would rather get mad.

chris

11/17/2013 10:30:01 pm

obviously you aren't paying attention, the humans are in the Bear's home,. just because some lodge is put up there for the humans, doesn't give the humans the right to move the bear out because it's doing it's natural thing. looking for food. if there weren't any humans in the middle of it's habitat, then this bear could get it's berries and move on. so what the lodge needs to do, is warn the people, and allow the bear to get it's food so it can move on. once again, HUMANS are causing our wildlife their lives, their homes, and their food. why? because they want to stay in the mountains, and they are the ones that are most important. I can read very well, and I see yet another animal forced out of it's home so some selfish human can sleep on top of a mountain for a night or two. our wildlife MUST be tolerant of humans, ALL of them because we have surrounded their home, and we go right in the middle of it. whether it's in the cove, cataloochee and even mt leconte. how about remove the cabins up there? there's a solution, get the man made stuff out of the wildlife's habitat. this way this bear can get it's food and live in peace without the threat of being hazed or being put down. there's the solution. NOT move the bear

Maddie Galloway

11/17/2013 06:10:08 am

Ahhh...he's so cute. :)

Missy

11/17/2013 06:49:31 am

When we stayed there the last week of Oct the crew warned us that a bear had been seen at the lodge during recent nights and asked to make sure to store our food in the containers they have in the office area for our safety as well as the bears. If you could see the abundance of ash berries around the lodge you'd understand why the bear would want to be there. I'm sure the smell of the food cooking might be another possible attraction. The crew isn't doing anything to attract the bear and I don't think the guests are either. Don't know what may or may not be happening at the camping shelter.

Jennie Koczan

11/18/2013 10:24:24 am

Thank you for all that you do. I am a visitor who appreciates your efforts. Quite honestly, I prefer a bear with a missing tooth than a dead one. People need to realize that we all play a part in making sure that not only we as people stay safe, but also the animals. Small things like NOT dropping your snacks like apple cores, orange peels etc on the trail will help. It's obvious that the lodge takes proper measures to ensure that they do not entice the wildlife. Visitors play a part in that as well and they need to realize that. It's also obvious, because they just showed us, that they aren't outright killing the bears.

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Nope, It Is Not a Large Dog

LeConte Lodge

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