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 this, I refer 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 to inform visitors it is is bear habitat and urge them to keep food put away.
Bear sightings in the Cove were few and far between for us as I grew up. They were there but it seemed we never timed it right for us to see them. We heard many stories of other people lucky enough to see them, but these occurred mainly in the higher elevations. For us, it was extremely rare. It was all about to change for soon we would have a close encounter.
As was customary, we spent the time after nightfall around the campfire with 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 black-crusted lumps. They would be combined with chocolate and graham crackers to create smores. I myself never acquired 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 sat at the table and were well into a game of rummy. Quiet time had arrived in the campground. The chirps of crickets and katydids echoed in the darkness. Frogs croaked incessantly. It was in this hour that it happened.
We paused to listen intently, not sure if 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. In retrospect, it was more like a sound your dog might make in a game of tug-o-war, but it was a growl nonetheless. Whatever it was, it now had our full attention as our eyes strained into the night. Only one word filled our minds – BEAR.
The sound became louder as it approached and 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 in a mood to fight him over it. 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 in a attempt to catch a close-up view of the elusive animal.
The growl had grown quite loud and seemed very near. Surely, it must be right outside the camper ! We pointed our flashlights here and there to illuminate the darkness at just the right moment to catch a large black shape lumber through the campsite. This prospect kept us on watch for some time for the elusive animal, but to no avail. It never showed itself and soon even the growls subsided into the distance.
The next day, we looked in vain for signs of our visitor. None of our gear was disturbed and no tracks were visible. The hunt abandoned, I played with the boy from the campsite next to us. At one point, we ran circles around the camper. My dad was still asleep inside and the sound of his snores could easily be heard. We got quite a few laughs as we joked about it.
Amid this, the boy 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 and stared too. He looked at us skeptically, “what did I say wrong ?”
We all looked at each other and knew without a doubt exactly where the bear had been the night before.
Excerpt from Under the Smoke
No comments:
Post a Comment