I usually write about history, but a wildlife encounter this week has been on my mind. Native plants, animals, and rural places are entwined with our history and culture. These are all things we should seek to protect.
Those of us who have lived here for generations are increasingly disturbed by what has happened to the open spaces that used to be a significant part of the allure and vista in our region.
Many of the more remote areas of the county have become those that are the most sought after for development. They are also the places that creatures inhabit. We are destroying their homes and habitats in what was once our most rural areas.
I grew up in the country in Blount County. We never saw deer, bear or coyotes where I lived. Now I live in the city surrounded by subdivisions and in the past years have seen deer, turkey, and coyotes. Late yesterday afternoon, my cat and I were sitting on a bench in our backyard when a black bear came out of the woods behind our house and sauntered toward us.
I grabbed the cat, and we made it inside. The bear hung around a while. He was not intimidated by the human habitat and likely looking for food. He checked the bird feeders and wandered back to the woods.
I have since had neighbors in Windsor Park, Browns School Road, Asbury and Broady Lane say they have seen a bear of late on camera or in person. These places are a mile or so away by bear travel, some inside the city, in densely populated areas.
In my growing up years, black bears were only seen inside The Great Smokies, or on occasion in our rural areas. Some people visit the park just to get a glimpse of them. They are not creatures that in their natural habitat, should be around humans.
Our black bears are one of the most common bear species. Adult males can weigh over 300 pounds and in the past they have stayed strictly in remote habitats. They are omnivores, meaning they eat plants and animals. They prefer to live near heavy vegetation and generally 80% of their diet is plants.
Black bears are smart, their paws dexterous, fast and strong. Domestic animals and humans can be prey for them, though it is rare unless they are frightened or defending themselves or their food.
They see and hear like humans, but their sense of smell is seven times that of hunting dogs. They can easily use that sense of smell to give them direction, find food and sense danger. They have lethal claws on their very large paws. They are extremely strong with dense muscle mass. They can travel at speeds of up to 35 miles per hour.
By destroying so much of their natural habitat we have changed their behavior. Their home in The Great Smokies has become crowded and congested with traffic. Once rural areas where they could live and forage outside the park are being developed and destroyed.
The bears are migrating toward human places and are pretty bold in their search for food.
They have been overly exposed to humans, risking their own existence by unhealthy animal to human interactions.
Our black bears are looking for homes, food, and places to live and reproduce. Their choice of areas is declining. It is not the fault of the bear; it is the result of living close to humans and the overtaking by man of what was once remote and attractive places for them to live.
We are on the precipice of destroying that which we love most. What most of us have seen in the last decade here in growth and development is not positive for either humans or wildlife. It will have a long-lasting effect on our next generations. We can learn from the bear.
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