this is so unusual...i was shocked and saddened to read it. ....................Tennessee (AP) -- A bear attacked a family at a camp site in the Cherokee National Forest on Thursday, killing a 6-year-old girl and injuring her 2-year-old brother and mother, authorities said.The attack took place near a pool of water on Chilhowee Mountain, said Dan Hicks, spokesman for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.
Witnesses described the bear picking up the boy in its mouth while the mother and other visitors tried to fend it off with sticks and rocks, Hicks said. The mother was injured before the bear was chased away.
The girl ran away during that attack, but was found dead a short time later with the bear nearby. A park ranger fired at least one shot at the bear before it bolted off.
The woman and her son were flown by helicopter to Erlanger Medical Center in Chattanooga, where both were being treated for wounds consistent with a bear attack, Hicks said.
Hospital officials did not immediately return calls for comment, but Hicks said the boy was listed in critical condition. The victims' names were not released.
Forest Service employees, TWRA game agents and several hunters were searching for the bear in an area spanning several thousand acres.
The 640,000-acre park runs along the southeastern Tennessee border with North Carolina, southwest of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.....
Bear Kills Child
Bear Kills Child
Rangers said black bears rarely attack humans and that the animal may have been suffering from a disease that affected its behavior.
"It's a pretty rare thing, black bears generally don't attack people. I can't think of any time other than -- just really rare circumstances," said Monty Williams, park ranger.
In May 2000, a woman was killed by a black bear near Gatlinburg. Glena Ann Bradley, a schoolteacher from Cosby, was attacked by two female bears when she took a walk on a trail near a Smoky Mountains campground.
"It's a pretty rare thing, black bears generally don't attack people. I can't think of any time other than -- just really rare circumstances," said Monty Williams, park ranger.
In May 2000, a woman was killed by a black bear near Gatlinburg. Glena Ann Bradley, a schoolteacher from Cosby, was attacked by two female bears when she took a walk on a trail near a Smoky Mountains campground.
Bear Kills Child
cars wrote: Tragic, story, are you listening Lil, Bears are deadly!:-1
I watched this on the news this morning and it is very sad that this happened. My prayers goes out to this family.
Cars, I live in "black bear country." It's a given that anyone here will see bears on a daily basis. The population has grown. Last bear hunting season, close to 3000 bears for my State were harvested. 170 just in my county alone.
Black bears are usually non aggressive unless provoked or a female feels her young are being threatened. Males are aggressive during June 1 to July 15th mating season. One must be aware and have the utmost respect for the bears, when living in their home range. Running away from a black bear only makes them chase you. I have 30+ years of living here and never had a run in with any bear.
I watched this on the news this morning and it is very sad that this happened. My prayers goes out to this family.
Cars, I live in "black bear country." It's a given that anyone here will see bears on a daily basis. The population has grown. Last bear hunting season, close to 3000 bears for my State were harvested. 170 just in my county alone.
Black bears are usually non aggressive unless provoked or a female feels her young are being threatened. Males are aggressive during June 1 to July 15th mating season. One must be aware and have the utmost respect for the bears, when living in their home range. Running away from a black bear only makes them chase you. I have 30+ years of living here and never had a run in with any bear.
Bear Kills Child
when i was a toddler my parents took me camping often in the beautiful smokies where we saw them often. and when i was older we would see them in the blue ridge, approaching cars for treats. a very big error people made, to let the bears associate people with goodies. last year while hiking in the blue ridge my brother encountered a mama black bear and two cubs directly in his path. happily they looked at each other a few minutes and she shuffled off with the cubs. he said his heart was racing! i am glad he had the presence of mind to stand stock still.
Bear Kills Child
[RIGHT]AP Photo
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officers at the entrance to the Chilhowee campground after a black bear killed a 6-year-old Ohio girl and critically injured her mother and 2-year-old brother in the Cherokee National Forest.
[/RIGHT]
Tenn. Rescuer Says Bear That Killed Girl 'As Big As you and me"
BENTON, Tenn. -- The rescue worker who found a young girl killed in a black bear attack in Tennessee said Friday that the animal was "as big as you and me."
Danny Stinnett is a local fire chief who was among the first to respond to Thursday's attack in Benton County. He said he came face to face with the black bear beside the lifeless body of 6-year-old Elora Petrasek.
Stinnett told The Associated Press that he fired his pistol twice and knows he hit the bear.
Authorities have set out traps in the 1,000-acre area of the Cherokee National Forest.
The bear also mauled Elora's mother, 45-year-old Susan Cenkus, and her brother, 2-year-old Luke Cenkus. The mother was in critical condition, and the boy was stable on Friday.
Dan Hicks of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said witnesses reported that the bear snatched the boy in its mouth at a campground.
Bear Kills Child
Scrat wrote: Sad. There must have been something wrong with the bear, he just came of hybernation (?) and was not in his right mind. This rarely happens to my knowledge.
Nope, Wrong, sorry. This bear, and most other attacks you hear about are from normal, healthy bears. And who can blame them? We make it so easy for them, leaving food out while we're camping, invading their territory.
People don't understand that animals are becoming more intelligent as they have to adapt to the humans invading their turf. There has recently become a rash of lion attacks in Tanzania where a lion killed 35 people. He even strategized his attacks. When people would lock themselves in their huts at night, he would show himself, to cause panic, and people would come running to the aid of the screaming panicked, and be eaten.
Animals are learning that people are much easier prey than the elk, deer, antelope, etc., that they are used to hunting. This is a bear acting like a bear.
People always say, "There must have been something wrong with the animal", and that's just not right. They are learning that humans are easier prey for them, as we insist on going into their world on our terms. You have to go into the territory of animals like this on THEIR terms and respect them always. These predators are acting like predators and they are going to go after the easiest food they can get, which happens to be us.
Nope, Wrong, sorry. This bear, and most other attacks you hear about are from normal, healthy bears. And who can blame them? We make it so easy for them, leaving food out while we're camping, invading their territory.
People don't understand that animals are becoming more intelligent as they have to adapt to the humans invading their turf. There has recently become a rash of lion attacks in Tanzania where a lion killed 35 people. He even strategized his attacks. When people would lock themselves in their huts at night, he would show himself, to cause panic, and people would come running to the aid of the screaming panicked, and be eaten.
Animals are learning that people are much easier prey than the elk, deer, antelope, etc., that they are used to hunting. This is a bear acting like a bear.
People always say, "There must have been something wrong with the animal", and that's just not right. They are learning that humans are easier prey for them, as we insist on going into their world on our terms. You have to go into the territory of animals like this on THEIR terms and respect them always. These predators are acting like predators and they are going to go after the easiest food they can get, which happens to be us.
[FONT=Arial Black]I hope you cherish this sweet way of life, and I hope you know that it comes with a price.
~Darrel Worley~
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Bullet's trial was a farce. Can I get an AMEN?????
We won't be punished for our sins, but BY them.
~Darrel Worley~
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Bullet's trial was a farce. Can I get an AMEN?????
We won't be punished for our sins, but BY them.
Bear Kills Child
I do agree ...that as animals lose their fear of man..then the man can become prey...still instince tells the animal what its natural foods are and unless there's a shortage..they normally wouldn't attack people for food.....I wonder if there were cubs around..animals will fight to protect their young...I just think there's more to the story we don't know yet...
When they find the animal and kill it..they will most likely cut off its head and have it tested for rabies...I work for the state of TN heath department..so they may send it to us for testing unless it goes to the Nashville lab...Not telling anything that's secret here...Just what usually is done when someone is bitten by an animal..........
When they find the animal and kill it..they will most likely cut off its head and have it tested for rabies...I work for the state of TN heath department..so they may send it to us for testing unless it goes to the Nashville lab...Not telling anything that's secret here...Just what usually is done when someone is bitten by an animal..........
Bear Kills Child
, Tenn.  The black bear believed to have attacked a family at a popular mountaintop campground, killing a 6-year-old girl, was caught on Sunday, according to the U.S. Forest Service. Authorities found a bear in the same trap where they detected paw prints on Saturday in the remote Cherokee National Forest Chilhowee Recreation Area, U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Sharon Moore said.
The bear looked to be the same weight as the 350- to 400-pound bear that attacked a mother and her two children on a trail in the recreation area on Thursday, she said.
"We're very hopeful this is the bear," Moore said. "It's basically the same size bear. There's truly not that many bears in the 5,000 acres we have closed off."
Moore said authorities planned to euthanize the bear on Sunday and send its body to the University of Tennessee's College of Veterinary Medicine in Knoxville to determine whether it was the one that had attacked the family.
The bear looked to be the same weight as the 350- to 400-pound bear that attacked a mother and her two children on a trail in the recreation area on Thursday, she said.
"We're very hopeful this is the bear," Moore said. "It's basically the same size bear. There's truly not that many bears in the 5,000 acres we have closed off."
Moore said authorities planned to euthanize the bear on Sunday and send its body to the University of Tennessee's College of Veterinary Medicine in Knoxville to determine whether it was the one that had attacked the family.
Bear Kills Child
So sad !!!!!!!!!! My heart goes out to that family. The Smokies are beautiful - there must be a lot of bears in there. I've only ever met one once, and that was in the Ozarks in MO. And I didn't actually meet the bear at all thank goodness, just heard him snuffling in our camp fire. That was scary enough.
"Life is too short to ski with ugly men"
Bear Kills Child
Well that just ticks me off to no end....just heard it on the news that the bear they trapped and put to sleep was the wrong bear!!! So now...they are hunting again for the right bear. Get real....on 640,000 acres of land, many bears roam. How many bears do they intend to put down until they get the right one? They are searching for a needle in a haystack!!! 
Bear Kills Child
Ive been camping in wilderness you could very easily get lost in with bear sightings daily. One thing that will get a bear riled up is food. We would string food packs up in the trees and a bear even got one of our packs up there. If they brought any type of food into the tent with them a bear will shred that tent and once he gets started he wont stop.
I AM AWESOME MAN
Bear Kills Child
SCRAT,
Being an average redneck, I have somewhat against your blanket statement against contryfolk.
Rednecks, which you didn't define, are as a group, probably more knowledgable in outdoor lore than you could hope to be. The whole survivalist idea is about being able to stay alive inspite of the electricity going out and the groscery stores running out of food.
What the heck is a redneck, anyway?
We used to call Catholics, "rednecks". Where did the term come from? I was told when I was young it was because they all shaved with used razors and it chaffed their necks red. Hence the "RED NECK". I know, it probably comes from some scarf somebody wore as a member of some group in times past.
Say what you really mean. Stupid, uneducated, selfcentered, users of everything good to no end, squandering, maligning, drunkard, hillbilly, bastard, fornicator, aldulterer, broke back mountain **** sucking, son of a bitch.
We country folk know the kind and we hate being classed in with them, but alas, they are someone's relative and we put up with them, but if we catch them breaking the law, they go to jail, just like the rest.
So you citified, high and mighty, pure as the driven snow people can kiss our collective butts!
There, I said it!
d:-5
Being an average redneck, I have somewhat against your blanket statement against contryfolk.
Rednecks, which you didn't define, are as a group, probably more knowledgable in outdoor lore than you could hope to be. The whole survivalist idea is about being able to stay alive inspite of the electricity going out and the groscery stores running out of food.
What the heck is a redneck, anyway?
We used to call Catholics, "rednecks". Where did the term come from? I was told when I was young it was because they all shaved with used razors and it chaffed their necks red. Hence the "RED NECK". I know, it probably comes from some scarf somebody wore as a member of some group in times past.
Say what you really mean. Stupid, uneducated, selfcentered, users of everything good to no end, squandering, maligning, drunkard, hillbilly, bastard, fornicator, aldulterer, broke back mountain **** sucking, son of a bitch.
We country folk know the kind and we hate being classed in with them, but alas, they are someone's relative and we put up with them, but if we catch them breaking the law, they go to jail, just like the rest.
So you citified, high and mighty, pure as the driven snow people can kiss our collective butts!
There, I said it!
d:-5
Bear Kills Child
LOL, OK.
Have a good day!
d:-5
Have a good day!
d:-5