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On Friday night, tens of thousands of people lined the streets of Gatlinburg, Tennessee for its annual Christmas parade. Some of them ended up getting a very unexpected surprise, as the event also attracted a black bear that decided to crash the party.
Most people who find themselves in Gatlinburg, Tennessee head there on a quest to take in some nature, as the quaint resort town that’s only home to around 3,500 permanent residents is situated on the edge of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
That approximately 522,000-acre expanse is home to hundreds of different species of animals, including the estimated 1,900 black bears that call it home.
Earlier this year, rangers had to remind visitors not to feed them due to a spike in the number of incidents where people did exactly that. Being mauled by a bear is somewhat obviously the biggest risk that comes with ignoring that rule, but it also has the potential to put other people at risk by normalizing interactions with human beings.
There’s no way to know if a bear that showed up at a Christmas parade near the park was the beneficiary of one of those illegal feedings, but it seemed to be very comfortable around the people who were thankfully left alone after it made an appearance.
A black bear showed up during a Christmas parade in Gatlinburg, Tennessee
On December 5th, the 50th annual Gatlinburg Fantasy of Lights Christmas Parade made its way through the heart of the town.
It featured a number of floats, performances, and appearances from local celebrities and dignitaries, but some people who gathered in the vicinity of the Old Mountain Wine Company also laid eyes on an unexpected guest: a black bear that decided to see what all the fuss was about.
Most of the spectators seemed remarkably unfazed by that particular development, although some of them were seen scrambling away after becoming aware of its presence (if you’re curious, standing your ground and staying calm is the suggested course of action if you find yourself in the vicinity of a black bear).
The animal was seen digging through the trash after the parade wrapped up, and no humans were harmed during its search for a meal.
This is far from the first time a bear has made headlines after popping up in Gatlinburg, and we were most recently treated to a story courtesy of one that had to be removed after getting stuck on the roof of a building in November.