'Shocked' Blue Ridge Parkway traveler recounts seeing visitors 'inches' from black bear
ASHEVILLE — As park staff continue to monitor an 8-mile stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway closed to the public Oct. 30 after reports of visitors feeding and attempting to hold a young bear, a bystander shared her observations with the Citizen Times.
The parkway remains closed to all visitors – motorists, cyclists and pedestrians alike – from Milepost 367.6 near the Craggy Gardens Picnic Area to Milepost 375.6 at Ox Creek Road, parkway spokesperson Leesa Brandon told the Citizen Times Nov. 2.
While Brandon did not have an update on recent sightings of the bear, she said, “we appreciate the public staying out of the area to help the bear lose interest.”
Shelley LeGrange, of Louisville, Kentucky, was driving north on the parkway Oct. 29, starting in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, for fall leaf peeping. She had stopped at almost every lookout spot on the scenic route and was just about to skip Lane Pinnacle Outlook ― about 10 miles northeast of Asheville ― when her husband said, “Oh my gosh, it’s a bear.”
“We pulled over, and I just cracked the door of my car,” LeGrange told the Citizen Times, describing how there were about five people standing around a young bear taking photos in close proximity.
Previous reporting: Fines levied for visitors feeding bear on Blue Ridge Parkway? When will road reopen?
More: 11-mile section of Blue Ridge Parkway closed due to ice in tunnels, reopening TBD
“I was like, do you believe these people?” LeGrange said. “I have to be quite honest with you. I was really filming because I was expecting a mauling. I just assumed that Mama Bear was going to show up and take no prisoners.”
LeGrange said she sat in the car watching for about 15 minutes, as the pull off area filled with people “very quickly.” By the time she left, she estimated there were about 20 people at the scenic overlook, some standing near the bear, others further back.
During the time she was there, LeGrange said she saw one woman kneeling on the ground to take a photo in front of the bear, another woman passed “within 18 inches” while the bear was on the opposite side of a short railing, and she saw a man get “really close and put something down on the ground in front of him.”
“It must not have been food because the bear did not pick it up,” LeGrange said. “He just sniffed it, looked at it, and walked away.”
Initial reporting: Blue Ridge Parkway closed near Asheville due to human-black bear interaction
While seeing bears in this section of the parkway is not uncommon, Brandon said the number of reports they received for the recent interactions is unusual.
“This situation of widespread reports of human and bear interactions is quite uncommon,” Brandon said. "The circumstances of this situation ― a smaller bear and the high level of traffic in October at this particularly popular location ― certainly contributed to this week’s closure decision."
Though she didn’t see anyone feed or touch the bear as has been reported to park staff, LeGrange said she was “shocked” to see people approaching the bear that close. The onlooker stayed in her car because she assumed the bear’s mom was close by and “didn’t want to be one of the people she chose.”
“We visit all kinds of national parks, and you don’t touch or get near the wildlife,” LeGrange said. “That’s just an understanding of being in a national park.”
While federal law prohibits feeding or approaching within 50 yards of a bear, under the penalty of at least a $100 fine or at most six-months imprisonment, none of the visitors have been penalized. Brandon said this is because they are “essentially receiving secondhand information after the interaction, which makes it difficult to pursue visitors who may have been involved in these activities.”
Approaching a bear is dangerous for both the human and animal, and not just because it can cause the bear to feel threatened and defend itself, according to Special Project Biologist Ashley Hobbs with the N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission. This type of activity is primarily dangerous because it can lead to a behavior called habituation, “where bears lose their fear of people, they become food conditioned, they associate us as a source of food,” Hobbs previously told the Citizen Times.
Hobbs said it doesn’t matter if the bear is big or small, if they get used to approaching people for food, it could accidently hurt someone, causing that bear to be labeled a safety risk.
Bear safety tips
Parkway officials urge visitors and neighbors to keep food out of sight and follow the safety tips from BearWise, a national educational program developed by bear biologists and employed by the N.C. Wildlife Commission. These include:
Never feed or approach a bear.
Secure food, garbage and recycling.
Remove bird feeders when bears are active.
Never leave pet food outdoors.
Clean and store grills.
Alert neighbors to bear activity.
For instructions on how to use bear spray and more guidelines on how to handle black bear encounters, visit bearwise.org. If anyone encounters a bear while on the parkway, call 828-298-2491 or stop at the nearest Visitor Center to report the encounter.
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober
This article originally appeared on Asheville Citizen Times: Blue Ridge Parkway visitor inches from black bear, scenic route closed
