Huge Bear Walks Into Gatlinburg Candy Store & ‘Leaves Without Paying’
Shoppers at a candy store in Gatlinburg, Tennessee were stunned when a bear waltzed in and helped itself to some treats. The incident had people online cracking up, but officials say there’s nothing funny about what happened. In fact, they’re concerned that the bear’s visit to the sweet shop was a sign of something more serious going on.
Video obtained by WBIR shows the visit. It doesn’t seem to have lasted long, but the bear did manage to get some candy out of one of the display cases.
According to the news outlet, the bear pawed at some of the candy on the shelves of the store. Gatlinburg police responded to a call about the bear and removed it from the store.
It’s Dangerous for Bears to Enter Stores
While the video is a cute visual, it’s anything but adorable. Officials believe the entire incident was a downright dangerous sign, in fact.
Speaking with WBIR, Greg Grieco, director of operations at Appalachian Bear Rescue, told the news outlet that there’s no circumstances where bears should be entering stores — not even for candy.
The organization believes that the animal probably entered the store because it had been fed by humans or ate human food in the past. It could’ve been locals who were feeding the bear or tourists, but either way feeding a bear human food can make the animal crave what we eat.
The issue isn’t just that bears shouldn’t be eating hamburgers or hot dogs. Bears that eat human foods can become dangerous, both to themselves and their humans.
In a video the news outlet shared online, they explained that behavior like this often leads to bears getting euthanized. State wildlife crews often work with police to help remove bears in these situations. Sadly, in this case if state officials are able to identify the animal it will most likely be euthanized. But this is an important reminder to all of us to never leave food out, nor feed a wild animal. It can risk their life.
“Even small actions, like leaving food out, can lead to bigger problems down the line,” Grieco explained to the news outlet. “The more bears become comfortable around humans, the higher the risks.”
“We still have some people who choose to break rules or to just behave poorly because it’s fun and cute,” Grieco added. “Unfortunately, the bears still pay the price.”
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