Smokies biologist: Bear vs. hog video highlights nature taking its course
This video, reportedly in or near the Smokies, made its rounds on the internet this week.
While its true location is unknown, the chief Smokies biologist said the incident would come as no surprise if it was indeed recorded in the Smokies. It’s just another wildlife showdown that generally occurs in the backcountry and goes unnoticed.
He also said its a good reminder that bears have emerged from hibernation, and are hungry and determined to find the calories they can. Even in the form of swine flesh.
Multiple people have forwarded him the video, Great Smoky Mountains National Park Supervisory Wildilife Biologist Bill Stiver said in a phone interview the afternoon of March 24.
“As a biologist I see classic opportunistic predatory behavior,” from a black bear, Stiver said, though he said he has no true idea of the video’s provenance. “It’s just not stuff people see all the time.”
Wild hogs are considered a nuisance, invasive species who destroy native Smokies habitats and are the subject of a long-running project to reduce their numbers in the park.
Stiver surmised the hog may have recently been struck by a vehicle, and the bear took advantage of the feral swine in its weakened state. “Bears are coming out of hibernation, and they are very hungry,” he said.
Smoky Mountain black bears routinely take down elk calves and sick elk, as well as injured deer or fawns. In the spring, Stiver said, many of those Cades Cove black bears tourists flock to see are just wandering around fields looking for deer fawns.
He could only cite five instances, however, including one fatality, in which a human was injured by a bear during his 30 years stationed at the park.
Spring is the time of year that “it’s time to start thinking about bears,” he said, as they emerge from hibernation and seek sustenance. Human-bear interactions are more likely this time of year, and Smokies visitors -- and those outside the park -- need to secure their food and garbage and maintain a safe distance from the animals.
Guidelines and suggestions to limit human-bear interactions and protect the iconic Smokies animals can be found at bearwise.org.
