KNOXVILLE, Tennessee — It's the kind of emergency call that can startle even a grizzled dispatcher.
"Yes, I've got two very large black bears in my front yard," said one woman last week, calling to alert Knoxville dispatchers about the surprising visit from Mother Nature.
WBIR obtained recordings of numerous 911 calls made May 21-23 by Knoxville residents -- many living in well-populated parts of the city -- after bears ambled across northern and western neighborhoods.
Most bear sightings happened at night.
Callers handled it pretty well, although some clearly were shocked and surprised.
There were bear sightings on Luck Avenue and Ezell Street in dense neighborhoods in North Knoxville as well as on Felix Road close to Fountain City.
A woman who lives on Ezell Street said the night of May 22 that the bear she'd spotted was "HUGE."
"And I think he's maybe targeting my house because my husband raises bees," she said. "So we have bees and honey in the back yard."
An incredulous man who lives near the Fourth and Gill area laughed about 3:15 a.m. May 23 as he explained what he'd seen.
"I'm calling currently because um, a bear...a bear...a bear...a little bear just walked down my avenue, which literally never has happened. Sorry, I was trying to follow the animal at a safe distance," he said.
"Don't follow them!" a dispatcher cautioned.
"Yes," the man replied. "Well, right?? Fair enough."
Bears also were spotted in the Mechanicsville area west of Interstate 275.
While it's unusual to see bears so plainly in the Knoxville city limits, it's not unexpected, according to Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency authorities.
For the area's black bear population, this is the season to wander, they said.
TWRA also warns residents to absolutely avoid coming into contact with the animals. They usually will leave on their own.
Bears are much more common in Sevier and Blount counties, down near Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
"I slammed my door as soon as I seen it," said a woman who lives at Forest Creek Apartments, close to the Fenix Road caller. "I thought someone was trying to break into my apartment."
A woman who lives on Luck Avenue said the bear in her yard was happily taking advantage of her birdseed feeder.
A woman on Carrick Street called the night of May 23 to report that she and her husband were in the process of moving into the house when he "come running in" to report seeing a bear out back.
Dispatchers urged caution and sometimes chuckled over all the calls they were getting.
When one man called early May 23 to report a "humongous black bear" in the Oak Avenue area, the dispatcher replied, "We've gotten a few calls about that little fella tonight."