Black Bear Interrupts Vacation by Trying to Break into Garbage

Occurred on April 27, 2021 / Sevierville, Tennessee, USA

Info from Licensor: On our second night of vacation in a cabin we rented in Sevierville, Tennessee, I was awakened a little after 1:00 am by the deafening sound of repeated banging. I thought someone or something was attempting to break in. I leaped out of bed and ran to the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room where I came face to face with a black bear! The bear was trying his hardest to gain access to the wooden bear-proof trash box that was on the front porch. I had read that bears are scared off by loud yelling so I knocked on the window and said “stop that, bear!” in a pitiful attempt to get it to leave. I did not yell it, however, because I have seven children who were all asleep at the time and I would rather clean up trash from one side of the property to the other than wake all seven of my kids up in the middle of the night! The bear continued his valiant effort to get the trash box open but failed miserably repeatedly hitting himself in the face with the lid. After a few minutes, he gave up, strutted across the banister of the porch before leaping down and continuing past the driveway before he disappeared into the woods.