First South Cumberland Bear Photo

Assistant Park Manager Bill Knapp forwarded this photo today of a bear caught by a game camera on private property near Collins Gulf.  The photo was taken on June 6, 2009.

Free Dumb of the Press

We love publicity for the Park and are as cooperative and helpful with journalists as anyone you know.  But when a local paper, in this case The Herald Chronicle from Winchester, Franklin County, Tennessee, runs a story that uses our content without giving us any credit and also gets the story significantly wrong, it hurts our feelings.  I had no idea they were writing this story, it just showed up in the paper today.

Starting out with this front page below the fold headline, no bears have actually been spotted in Savage Gulf.  Bear signs and scat have been found.  The photo caption says that Savage Gulf includes Franklin County.  The closest point in the Savage Gulf Wilderness Area would be someplace along the park boundary near Greeter Falls and the town of Altamont, which is about 21 miles from the Franklin County line.  No part of Savage is in Franklin County.  The photo was not taken in the park.

There has been one bear actually seen by a day hiker in Grundy Forest, and a motion actuated game camera caught a picture of a bear on private property not too far from Collins Gulf which is part of the greater Savage Gulf area.  That was in early August.

The rest of the story is OK but no one fact checked the story or called to interview park management or to get the latest information.

Not included in the story is the fact that the normal behavior of wild bears is that they will flee from human presence. As of the last report I have, there have been no encounters between campers and bears in the park. This is good for both the campers and the bears.

Bears in the park are, to me, a good indicator that the wilderness conservation efforts up and down the Cumberland Plateau since the late 1970s are having the positive impact of creating enough connected and undisturbed habitat to support large animals like bears. Since the Friends of South Cumberland was incorporated in 1993 our group has been actively involved in working to complete the state’s master plan for South Cumberland. The park now encompasses 21,649 acres. It was about 16,000 acres in 1993.

Moral to the story, we would love for you to write a story or publish photos or videos about the park, but let the Friends and the park help you so that you don't end up with bears in the wrong county in a property that doesn't exist there.

Bear Photo from Rugby, Tennessee

Friends member Vi Biehl took this black bear photo through the window at her home in Rugby, Tennessee.

Black bear populations increase the further north you go up the Cumberland Plateau.

Black Bear Scat Photo

Does a bear poop in the woods? In this case it was on the North Rim Trail at Savage Gulf.

Bill McGee says: "I found bear scat in only 2 locations, but several droppings in each. Both on the N Rim Trail and only on that trail. Both 2 locations were within about 15-20 feet of a large, open, rocky overlook.

Locations are:

1) 35.45376 N -85.58371 W
2) 35.45528 N -85.58872 W

It's possible there was more bear scat along the trail and I didn't see it.

I'm neither a hunter nor a tracker so, if there were other bear signs (tracks, claw marks on trees), I didn't see them."

Black Bears Bring New Requirements

Black Bears at Savage Gulf Bring New Requirements for Backpackers

MONTEAGLE, TN August 18, 2009 The recent presence of black bears in Savage Gulf in the South Cumberland State Recreation Area is bringing some new backpacking and hiking rules for Park visitors. South Cumberland is in the process of creating new bear guidelines which are being adapted from Pickett State Park where bears have been present for several years.

A new Park flyer posted at Park entrances and kiosks reads "All park visitors be advised to use caution when in contact with BEARS, respect the bears need for space. Never approach a bear, not even for a photo."

"Campers must use ‘bear bag’ * technique and hang ALL food and scented items away from campsite. Never have food stored in tent. Carry all trash out, do not burn and leave garbage in fire ring, this will attract bears to campgrounds."

"(*hang food in bag at least 100ft away from campsite & other campers. Hang on sturdy limb, that will be able to hold weight of bag, at least 10 feett away from trunk of tree and hoist bag at least 15 feet above the ground.)"

Bearbagging is the practice of storing anything that smells like food (as well as the food itself) into a bag, and hanging it over a tree limb that a bear can't reach by climbing or stretching.

Keep this in mind about bears:

• They learn quickly
• They have a powerful sense of smell
• Bears have a much more generous definition of "food" than you do.

Anything that once contained food, or physically contacted food, or even had an edible liquid like soup or juice spilled on it is capable of attracting a bear.

Bears also go for things like these:

toothpaste, gum wrappers, bars of soap (most contain fats),scented sunscreens, deodorants

If you're unsure about the item, play it safe and place it out of reach in your bear bag. Bears can scent food through plastic bags, foil wrapping, even lidded plastic containers.

Read the Park bear notice here.

Bears at South Cumberland

We sent a newsletter out on Saturday, I am reposting here in case you are subscribing to the blog feed but are not on the newsletter list.

The Friends of South Cumberland Board met Saturday for our scheduled quarterly meeting. Park Manager John Christof advised the board that a local property owner's game feeding stand photographed a black bear not too far from the Collins Gulf entrance to the park. Ranger George Shinn advised that he and other rangers have seen bear scat, tracks and other signs in Collins Gulf, along the Connector Trail and in the vicinity of Hobbs Cabin within the past week. It appears that there might be three different animals.

Camping and cooking in bear country, and storing a food cache, requires different safety precautions than normal backpacking and camping. The most common close encounters between bears and people in the wilderness almost all relate to the presence of food.
The National Park Service has an excellent write up here related to bears and bear behavior in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/black-bears.htm

If you see a bear at South Cumberland during your visit, please report the time and location to a Ranger.

Ranger George Shinn is presently talking with other Tennessee state parks who have bears and I expect South Cumberland will have some written guidelines and recommendations in the very near future.