The Environmental Journal of Southern Appalachia

Displaying items by tag: matthew cameron

A black bear cub is released into the Cumberland Mountains as seen in this video from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. Two other cubs were also released after wildlife officers retrieved them from the side of the road after a sow was struck by a vehicle in Sullivan County.  TWRA

Wildlife officers rescue bear cubs after mother killed by vehicle

Matthew Cameron is a public information officer with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.

BLOUNTVILLE — The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) responded May 18 to a report of a sow black bear struck and killed by a vehicle along U.S. Highway 19E in Sullivan County. The response led to the successful rescue and release of three orphaned bear cubs into a remote area of the Cumberland Mountains.

TWRA received the initial call around 7 a.m. and had personnel en route within 30 minutes. By 8:30 a.m., officers were on the scene, but no cubs were immediately visible. Additional staff arrived with trapping equipment, and the deceased female bear was removed from the accident site. Three traps were then set in the area.
 
At about 11:40 a.m., a local resident provided a video showing three bear cubs on the same side of the road as the traps and the sow. This visual confirmation verified that the animals were indeed cubs and not older yearlings.
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Screen Shot 2024 06 21 at 9.36.41 PMIn this image from a social media video, a woman and child are seen outside the Bearskin Lodge in Gatlinburg. Biologists have concluded the bear is too habituated to humans and plans call for trapping and euthanizing the animal.  Hellbender Press

The incident caught outside a Gatlinburg hotel was not “normal bear behavior” and relocation of a fed, fearless bear isn’t an option

GATLINBURG — Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency biologists plan to trap and euthanize a bear featured in a viral video posted June 16 to the Facebook account of a woman who lists Chicago as her home.
 
The video, which is no longer viewable by the public, shows a woman holding a small child just outside the Bearskin Lodge. The woman and other guests had opted to stay outside despite being asked to come into the hotel lobby after a black bear appeared, according to TWRA.
 
The bear rears on its hind legs and sniffs the woman and the child’s foot, which she recoiled in fear. At one point the bear’s claws become hooked on the woman’s clothing. The bear ultimately retreats, snuffling and pawing around a nearby rocking chair before leaving with what appears to be garbage in its mouth.
 
“This is an example of how unfearful people have become of wildlife and how misunderstood black bears can be,” said TWRA spokesman Matthew Cameron via email. “They are not Teddy bears. They are large, powerful animals with sharp claws, sharp teeth and strong jaws.” 
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Thursday, 05 October 2023 21:20

Rangers pry bear cub from pet food container

Container_Cub_2.jpgTWRA is stressing the importance of being BearWise after removing a plastic pet feeder from a bear cub’s head this week in Blount County. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency

Wildlife agency advises people to be bear aware 

Matthew Cameron is a wildlife information specialist at Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency. 

MARYVILLE — Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is stressing the importance of being BearWise after recently removing a plastic pet feeder from a bear cub’s head. TWRA Black Bear Support Biologist Janelle Musser responded and promptly began a trapping effort. She was able to lure the cub into a trap, but was unable to trigger it with its mouth due to the container on its head. She moved the trap each time a new sighting was reported, even trying different style traps but the mother became trap shy and difficult to pattern.

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