TWRA: Bear euthanized after breaking into Sevier County home through garage

SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. (WATE) — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency euthanized a bear on Friday after it broke into a Sevier County home through a garage and began eating from a refrigerator.

The TWRA confirmed to 6 News Saturday afternoon that the bear had been frequenting the area previously and getting into the truck beds of cabin cleaner’s vehicles and construction dumpsters.

“Per the bear conflict matrix, this bear was trapped, and humanely killed. This bear was past the point of being able to have its behavior changed through hazing or location,” TWRA spokesperson Matt Cameron said.

The TWRA shared that it recommends hazing bears to deter them from human populated areas and issues rubber buckshot to residents for that purpose. The Humane Society of the United States describes hazing as a method of using deterrents to move an animal out of an area or to discourage undesirable behavior.

Friday evening, Appalachian Bear Rescue also shared that the euthanized bear was a mother who had three female cubs. ABR took in the cubs after they were trapped by the TWRA. The rescue also shared that the mother bears was trapped at a Sevierville address in Sevier County, but the home is right outside of Gatlinburg.

“Unfortunately, there is no public trash service in the county areas of Sevier County. People must take their trash to convenience centers. To exacerbate the problem, there is a lot of construction going on in the area. There are lots and lots of construction dumpsters that are not bear-resistant.”

The cubs were taken to the UT College of Veterinary Medicine for medical exams and are health, ABR said. They have since been named “Bubbles,” “Mojo,” and “Fuzzy.”

The rescue now has 19 bear cubs and yearlings in their care.

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