Savage Gulf Bear Sighting Draws Crowds

One of the photographs captured by a hunter’s motion sensing camera near Savage Gulf.

A bear sighting last summer has become a big draw for Savage Gulf State Natural Area. Park rangers report a 50% spike in visitors.

Bears have not been known to frequent the park near Monteagle on the Cumberland Plateau. This fall, a hunter set up a corn feeder near the Collins East area of Savage Gulf. Park assistant manager Bill Knapp says the feeder had a motion-sensing camera meant to snap shots of deer and turkeys.

“When he looked at the camera, he came up with 23 to 24 pictures of a black bear, which pretty much surprised everybody.”

Knapp says the pictures have quickly made their way around communities near the park and drawn big crowds. The number of visitors to the remote Collins East area jumped to nearly 2,300 in November.

Knapp says rangers have not found additional evidence of bear activity and believe the small black bear has likely returned to its home in the Smokey Mountains. However, park officials have asked hikers and campers to use extra precaution.

Until this winter, Knapp told visitors they might see a lot of wildlife on his part of the Cumberland Plateau, but not bears.

“We told them the biggest thing they had to worry about was squirrels and raccoons raiding their food type of thing. Nowadays, we’re changing our rules a little bit and asking people to use bear bags and hang their food away from their campsites.”

Black bears are known to roam as far as 150 miles, so park rangers believe this bear was just further than normal from its home in the Smoky Mountains. Still, they ask that hikers contact the ranger station if they see any bears or their tracks.