The Bear Has Moved On

It was a wet day, but the guests hung out and watched as the park biologists weighed, measured, and tagged the bear. I new this bear was the biggest I have seen around the lodge. I was right. Joe, the biologist, believed him to be a little over 200 lbs. We are used to the little guys coming through camp. They usually weigh in around 75 lbs. This big boy had been eating his fair share of mountain ash berries. When all was said and done, Joe laid the bear at the edge of camp and administered the wake up drug. He moved back a ways and watched as the bear awoke to make sure the big guy was safe and went on his way. He did just that. He woke up and got out of dodge. We have not seen him since. Hopefully this experience will keep him foraging for acorns and berries. One thing the biologist pointed out was that the bigger bears can cover a good distance in one day. This being said, it would not be unusual for him to end up Gatlinburg as a dumpster bear. We hope with this experience that he will fear humans and not end up as a dumpster bear. We want him to continue being a tree hugging, organic food eating bear.

On to weather. We are currently seeing rain. We received a little over an inch yesterday. The high was 52º with a low of 37º. The trails are in good shape. No reports of problems with ice.