Black Bear Checks Out Downtown Gatlinburg

Occurred on August 6, 2021 / Gatlinburg, Tennessee, USA

Info from Licensor: "My 3 sons and I were crossing the street in Downtown Gatlinburg Tennessee on Friday 8/6. My 12 year old son was in front of me while I was holding the hands of my 9 and 5 year old when I noticed my 12 year old walking faster ahead of me. I called for him to slow down and then looked in front of him to where he was walking and the bear was coming towards him he had his phone out and started videoing . He was videoing before I even realized what was going on. My first thought was this had to be an exhibit of some sort and then I realized this was real life, this was really happening! With this being our 4th trip to Gatlinburg and always dreams of seeing a bear even going out late at night driving around with hopes of seeing one. I never imagined the 1st time we saw one would be walking alone with 3 of my children on a busy street in Gatlinburg. My insides were freaking out as I had to hold my little ones back from wanting to pet it (the bear was so calm). The crowd was so calm, which helped with the situation!"