KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — A bear will be euthanized after it approached a woman at the Bearskin Lodge in Gatlinburg, according to the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency.
In a video, the bear can be seen approaching a woman and her child and then standing up behind her on its hind legs.
According to TWRA Spokesperson Matt Cameron, the bear has been fed by humans at some point.
"It has no fear of humans," Cameron said. "It's approaching people and expecting someone to feed it something."
But this isn't uncommon in the area. Gatlinburg, which is near the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, is a hot spot for both bears and tourists, Cameron said.
"There's so many unnatural food sources there for them. Human food is full of calories, fats, sugars... all the things that the bears love. They easily get addicted to it," he said.
Cameron said the lodge had warned guests to come inside because of the bear, but some stayed outside. WBIR reached out to Bearskin Lodge to confirm and hasn't heard back.
Because the bear has shown no fear of humans, it will likely be trapped and euthanized. The challenge in this case is identifying the bear.
"To know exactly for sure, if we do catch a bear in that area if it's that exact bear...I don't think it's possible," Cameron said.
The TWRA has several traps in Gatlinburg. If a bear is trapped in that area and seems comfortable around humans, it will be euthanized, TWRA said. They will not have a way to confirm if it's the exact bear from the Bearskin Lodge incident.
But situations like these are upsetting and frustrating.
"We did not pursue a career in wildlife to kill animals," TWRA said.
TWRA strongly encourages people to not feed bears since it only causes harm, according to TWRA.
"When these situations occur, people blame the wildlife agency in charge of killing the bear," TWRA said. "The actions of irresponsible people killed this bear but TWRA had to perform the physical act."
If you see a black bear, try to give it a clear escape route, the agency said. If it comes towards you, group together and try to intimidate it.