I have been visiting Sevier County Tennessee for 25 years. A property owner there for almost 15 years. Bear sightings in the city were very uncommon for so long. Sadly, not anymore.

I caught this picture on trash day last week right across the street from my house. Believe it or not, our neighbors across the street (who live there year-round) don’t have a bear cage for their trash cans! This is the result! This was the bear coming back for seconds – and just beat the garbage truck by about 5 minutes or less.

Not to mention – a couple days later, another bear got stuck on the roof of a building in downtown Gatlinburg – so sad. Officials were able to tranquilize the bear and use a bucket truck to get him/her down and get them back to the wild. Anytime you see wildlife PLEASE keep your distance and leave them alone.