KNOXVILLE, Tenn — A hungry young black bear got a free ride to a Knoxville trash center this week while dumpster-diving for food.
The freeloading male had climbed into the commercial dumpster Tuesday when a truck picked it up and hauled it away to the Waste Connections convenience center on Prosser Road, said Matt Cameron of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
"It climbed up into some rafters of a structure, and a TWRA wildlife officer was able to chemically mobilize it and relocate it to a wildlife management area," Cameron told WBIR.
Tennessee black bears are infamous for foraging wherever they smell food, including dumpsters. But it's rare to hear of a bear catching a ride around town in one.
It's a good reminder to use caution when storing food and trash in bins and dumpsters or when poking around in a dumpster yourself. You never know what you may find, including an enterprising bear.
They're mobile and happy to range for miles and miles in search of yummy morsels.
It was just a year ago, in fact, that a roaming bear paid a visit to the City-County Building's subterranean parking garage in the middle of the night.
As always, conservationists remind you not to engage with any bear. Don't feed them and don't leave food for them. They're not pets; they're wild animals with claws and sharp teeth.
