Stranded Black Bear Had to Be Saved From ‘Bear Jam’ in Great Smoky Mountains— Officials Issue Warning
It looks like an ordinary photograph snapped by a construction worker during a lunch break. The photo features a yellow-black Deere backhoe standing on a road and positioned against a rocky cliff. Up above the cliff, a worker in an orange helmet appears from behind a cluster of rooty bushes and tangles of branches. The picture may look simple, except that there is a mysterious character hiding in it that tells a heartwarming story that recently unfolded in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in the southeast United States.
As the park described on Instagram, the story goes like this. A black bear was wandering on the Laurel Creek Road. Now, Laurel Creek is a meandering road, the only one that leads to Cades Cove on the Gatlinburg side of the park. This means, on a typical day, the road is bustling with lots of cars rushing towards the cove. In many spots, the cars aren’t even moving as curious visitors flop out of their vehicles to witness these bears strolling and eating in the wild. This often triggers a situation the park refers to as “bear jams.”
According to the story shared by the park, the bear in this photograph was crossing Laurel Creek Road when it became startled by a bear jam and immediately scrambled up the cliff on a steep bank. There, it got trapped in a hole carved by the tree branches and rocks. In the picture, it can be seen as a little black hole nestled among the branches and leaves. A coordinated team of law enforcement, wildlife biologists, preventive search and rescue (PSAR) rangers, and maintenance crews stepped in for help.
As the picture reveals, the officials positioned the backhoe against the cliff with its dipperstick and bucket lifted upwards so the bear could hop inside it to safety. Once the bear had jumped into the bucket, the rangers tranquilized it to avoid injuries and rappelled down the cliff. “While we usually let wildlife navigate their environment without interference, this situation called for action,” the park wrote in the post.
Nick Beres, a journalist from News Channel 5, also shared two photos of the episode. Kelley Shilling, a visitor who was present at the scene, shared an up-close photo of the bear peeking out of the cove, with a portion of its body slumped on the surrounding rocks. The incident unfolded in October, and the park is proud of how its rangers handled it. “Thanks to the quick thinking and teamwork of our staff, the bear was rescued without injury. We're proud of the creative, compassionate rangers that made this possible,” the park wrote.
Looking ahead, the park shared three guidelines for visitors, advising them how to manage situations like these if they should repeat in the future. First and foremost, visitors are suggested to observe all wildlife, including bears, “from a distance.” Second, the park advised people to avoid stopping their cars in the middle of the road, as a bear jam situation not just blocks the traffic but also scares the bears prowling nearby.
Last and least, tourists should abide by the speed limits and avoid careening their cars. At any point in time, a bear, deer, or fox could be crossing the road, and they could lose their life by crashing into your vehicle. As for the latest episode, the good news is that the bear is now safe and happily relocated to downtown Nashville, a park ranger revealed on Facebook.
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