Gatlinburg residents, business owners see uptick in bear activity

GATLINBURG, Tenn. (WVLT) - For those who live and work in Gatlinburg, bears are no oddity. In fact, many in the area are sounding a call to keep bears in the area safe.

Beyond just being the cute and cuddly mascot of the Great Smoky Mountains, bears are an economic driver.

“People come to Gatlinburg, they want to see a bear,” Gatlinburg’s Seth Butler said. “Typically you will see a bear in our wonderful city; the bear population has increased.”

Not many of the businesses in Gatlinburg like to talk about the human-bear problem. So far this year, bear euthanasians have already doubled from 2023.

However, Brian Rainwater out of Atlanta owns a Gatlinburg cabin and was willing to talk to us about what he does to keep bears safe.

“I have three decks, and each has a sign,“ he said about his rental property. ”Please don’t feed the bears, if they get used to humans, too comfortable with human interaction, they’ll be euthanized."

The problems happen when bears encounter people. They might look cute and cuddly, but they pose a pretty serious risk to humans and in turn, humans pose a risk to them.

Greg Grieco is a former national park ranger. Now, he’s with Appalachian Bear Rescue. He said he’s had to kill more dangerous bears than most people.

“Usually a bear that will look at you like a dog, paw at you or chase you,” he said. “It’s waiting for you to feed it; that’s a huge threat to people’s safety. If you run away from a bear, it might hurt you or climb in your truck or break a window out of your car, so those bears get put down.”

So what’s being done? Right now, an offense can cost you a $50 fine and $180 in court costs from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Looking ahead, WVLT’s Lexi Lepof spoke with one Tennessee lawmaker who’s working to make a difference.