Safety measures you can take to help avoid bear encounters, according to park rangers

GREENE COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – East Tennessee is one region among many that is populated with black bears, but getting too close to one can be dangerous and can lead to devastating consequences for the bear.

“Well, in most cases, the bear is going to smell you and hear you long before you even know it’s there,” said Leslie Morgan, a district ranger for the U.S Forest Service-Unaka District.

Morgan told News Channel 11 that the easiest way to attract a bear is by leaving out food, as black bears have a great sense of smell.

“If you leave any dog food on your front porch, back porch, or around your house, bird feeders are a big hit for bears because that’s an easy food source for them,” said Morgan. “Any kind of garbage that’s left out, they’re going to be attracted to it.”

Black bears are more tolerable of people and tend to scare easy, there are a few tools you can carry with you to deter a bear.

“Bear spray or just pepper spray that people carry as a safety precaution; it is always a good thing to have,” said Morgan. “Any kind of loud, sharp, high pitched noise, like a whistle is great to carry.”

Morgan said there is one common misconception about bear spray and how it’s used. It is not used to spray around your tent to deter bears, but to use in case you find yourself in a close encounter situation with a bear. Morgan said to aim for a bear’s eyes if you need to use spray.

The one thing you never want to do if you see a bear is run away from it.

“That triggers the instinct for them to chase,” said Morgan. “If the bear does happen to go hands on with you it’s better just to protect your head and neck and curl up into the fetal position.”

Chelsea Walters, a park ranger at David Crockett Birthplace State Park, said the park has not seen a whole lot of bears so far this season, but they try to educate campers on safety protocols– one being the buddy system.

“Do not hike alone, it can be fun to hike alone, but it’s a little more dangerous,” said Walters. “One of the best reasons to hike with a buddy is that normally you’re talking with your friends when you’re hiking and bears can hear from pretty far away.”

The best way to not attract bears when camping is hiding your food in a locked car, and Walters said bears are very smart and can recognize that coolers inside cars mean food.

“If you were to have a cooler of your food in a vehicle and you’re trying to take steps to prevent a bear break in, it’s best to take a blanket or towel and cover that cooler up,” said Walters.

If you do not have a vehicle to hide your food in, you can also hang it in a tree away from your campsite.

“When camping, always keep your food hanging properly in a tree,” said Morgan. “It needs to be hung 12 feet off the ground.”

Bear season typically runs from April until November.

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