Bears browse like tourists among holiday decorations at Tennessee mall, video shows

Black bears in Great Smoky Mountains National Park are notorious for trying to cozy up to tourists, but the boldest of the bunch are now visiting shopping centers in nearby Gatlinburg.

Two bears showed up last weekend at Baskins Square, one of the city’s popular outdoor malls, and they appeared to be window shopping and enjoying the Christmas decorations like tourists, according to videos posted on Facebook.

The bears arrived separately before dawn and are seen going door to door, even climbing ramps to stores on upper levels.

Tennessee Jed’s Gatlinburg, a sandwich shop in the square, posted the videos, which include a moment when one bear pauses outside the shop’s front door.

“Looking for some food this morning?” a man is heard asking a bear. “You going to go through our trash?”

The videos have garnered hundreds of reactions since Saturday, including some people who were amused and others who were “nervous.”

“WAY TOO CLOSE,” June Conley posted on the shop’s Facebook page.

It’s not the first time bears have entered the square uninvited. In August, a three-minute video posted to YouTube showed crowds of tourists following a young bear as it walked through the mall — and even briefly entered a store.

The National Park Service warns bears can be “dangerous and unpredictable” and it is illegal to get within 50 feet of them inside the park. Adults males can weigh an average of 250 pounds, but some get as big as 600 pounds, the NPS says.

Car collisions are the biggest threat they face in the area, which is why one video ends with a man bidding a bear farewell and warning: “Watch out for cars down there.”

The bear is then seen walking down the sidewalk in the dark, sniffing at trash cans on its way back to the park.

This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 3:48 PM with the headline "Bears browse like tourists among holiday decorations at Tennessee mall, video shows."