The number one rule of being in bear country? Never, under any circumstance, leave food in your vehicle… if you do, a family of black bears may very well break their way in.
It’s estimated that 340,000 bears live in the United States, and in certain parts of the country, residents have to always be on alert and keep an eye out for bruins. Black bears make up most of that total number (around 300,000), and one place where you are almost guaranteed to see them is in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
In the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is the tourist destination known as Gatlinburg. Those that have been before know that there’s no better place to go look at mountain, stay in a cabin, eat pancakes, and get drunk off of moonshine tastings. Former Gatlinburg visitors also know there’s a good chance that you’ll cross paths with a black bear while you are there.
Bears tend to be pretty nosy creatures, and though they have been known to get violent when provoked (or if their cubs are messed with), they’re usually just being curious. Sometimes that curiosity translates to getting into a little trouble, and in most cases, that trouble is food-fueled.
Black bears have one of the strongest sniffers in the Animal Kingdom. Their noses are around 2,100 times stronger than the one’s we humans are equipped with. That just means that bears don’t need to see food… they just need to smell it. Once they do, they have a one track mind, and this mother bear was willing to do some breaking and entering once she got on the scent of a fast food bag.
Some Gatlinburg visitors in a nearby car watched helplessly as a mother bear – with her cubs following closely behind – casually walked up to a parked vehicle and started reaching for the door handle. They laid down on their horn to try and deter the bear family, but it did nothing. The mama was going to get her paws on the prize inside.
In the video, you can hear someone behind or near the camera shocked by the bear-break-in:
“They know how to open the door. Oh my gosh, they are getting in the car. They’re all in the car.”
Sure enough, once the mother bear got the door open, her cubs followed right behind her. If the car dealership told the car owner the vehicle was perfect for a family of five, they weren’t lying. At one point, the mother and her four cubs were basically all inside the automobile.
But it didn’t take long for them to exit. The mother bear grabbed the fast food bag and got out of there to take the grub elsewhere. All in all, the car owner was fortunate the damage wasn’t any worse… and the mama and her cubs pouring out of there like a clown car made for quite the funny video.
Check it out:
“A bear family piled into a parked car in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, on Friday, after the adult bear skillfully opened one of the vehicle’s doors. The bears snatched items from the car which they later discarded in the parking lot.”
