It's a Bear !!

It’s a Bear !!

            The Smoky Mountains are home to over 1400 black bears. There are hundreds more throughout the Southern Appalachians. One of the biggest threats to these animals is human interaction. By saying this, I am referring to people who feed them or leave food in areas easily accessible. This causes bears to lose their fear of humans and sometimes results in dangerous situations for animal and person alike. Because of this, signs are posted throughout the park informing visitors the area is bear habitat and urging them to keep food put up.

            Bear sightings in the Cove were few and far between for us as I was growing up. They were there but it seemed our timing was just not right for us to see them. We heard many stories of other people seeing them, but these occurred mainly in the higher elevations. The sightings for us were just extremely rare. It was all about to change for we were about to have a close encounter.

            As was customary every evening, we spent the time after nightfall around the campfire and playing games on the picnic table. We would roast hotdogs on the fire or cook on the Coleman stove. Later, marshmallows would be impaled and turned into smoking or flaming black-crusted lumps. They would be combined with chocolate and graham crackers to create smores. I myself never did acquire a liking for this gooey mess. Instead I would go straight for the plain graham crackers. 

            Supper was over and food put away except for snacks and drinks. We were sitting at the table and well into a game of rummy. Quiet time had arrived in the campground decreasing the sound level noticeably. Crickets and katydids chirped loudly from seemingly everywhere. Frogs croaked incessantly. It was in this hour it happened.

            Pausing to listen intently, we were not sure anything was really heard at first. When no unusual sound was discernible in the night, we returned to the game. Wait – there it is again. It was low and far off, but we all heard it this time. It sounded like a growl. Thinking back on it now, it was more like a sound your dog might make while playing tug-o-war but it was a growl nonetheless. Whatever it was now had our full attention as our eyes strained into the night and only one word filled our minds – BEAR.

            Becoming louder as it approached, we decided it was time to retreat. If it was a bear, he could have whatever he wanted on that table. I for one was NOT going to fight him for it. Moving as slowly and deliberately as possible we made our way to the relative safety of our camper. Once inside, we unzipped the plastic windows and gazed out through the screen intently hoping to catch a close-up view of the elusive animal.

            The growling had grown quite loud and seemed very near. Surely, it must be right outside the camper ! We pointed our flashlights here and there hoping to illuminate the darkness at just the right moment to catch a large black shape lumbering through the campsite. Having never seen one this close before, the prospect of doing so kept us on watch for some time. Time passed with the elusive animal never showing itself and soon even the growling noises subsided.

            The next morning, we looked in vain for signs of our visitor. Nothing was disturbed and no tracks were visible anywhere. Giving up the hunt, I started playing with the boy from the campsite next to us. At one point, we found ourselves running around the camper. My dad was still sleeping inside and the sound of his snoring could easily be heard. We got quite a few laughs cracking jokes about it.

            Amid the jokes and laughing, the boy I was playing with said, “You think that’s funny ?  My dad sounds like he’s growling when he snores. It sounds just like a bear !”

            I just stared at him. My mom and sister had stopped what they were doing too. He looked at us questioningly, “what did I say wrong ?”

            We all looked at each other smiling, knowing without a doubt exactly where the bear had been the night before.

Excerpt from Under the Smoke