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Black bear caution
More and more black bear are moving into residential areas in East Tennessee. Wednesday morning Cocke County Sheriff Armando Fontes responded to the Carson Springs Road at Edgemont Elementary School to slow traffic. The sheriff said there was a mother bear and 3 cubs directly across the road from the school. "We prevented the bears from going into the parking lot, and the bears were not injured. All are safe, we were just taking measures to ensure the safety of the children," added the sheriff. Wednesday afternoon officials of the Cherokee National Forest issued an emergency order aimed at reduce human and black bear encounters. The Cherokee National Forest is home to about 1,500 black bears, but only a few lucky visitors will catch a glimpse of one of these reclusive animals. It is best for bears and for forest visitors and neighbors that a healthy respect and distance is maintained. There are many specific things people can do to avoid attracting black bears, and good sanitation is a key to many of these. Odors attract bears to potential food items. Carefully controlling odors associated with food and products that humans use prevent bears from being conditioned to being near people. This means storing food, garbage, cooking gear, and scented cosmetics (including toothpaste) where bears cannot get them. Once conditioned, a bear is dangerous. It may approach humans closely and come into camps or near homes to search for food. And then it may be necessary to destroy the animal. In most situations, bears have a natural fear of humans that helps them survive. Black bears are wild and their behavior is sometimes unpredictable. Although extremely rare, attacks on humans have occurred, inflicting serious injuries and death. Treat all bear encounters with extreme caution. The Cherokee National Forest has worked with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to install bear-resistant trash cans at many recreation sites. Officials say in the extreme case that you are attacked by a black bear, try to fight back using any object available. Act aggressively and intimidate the bear by yelling and waving your arms. Playing dead is not an appropriate response.
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