Climbing temperatures and dry environments continue to fuel the wildfires of the West. Most recently, the Monument Fire burned through over 183,000 acres, growing more than 4,000 acres over a single night. In a dreary reality, this fire isn’t even the largest in the state of California. Instead, it comes in at third. As historic Gold Rush era towns burn to the ground, animals are also looking to escape the dangers.
Migratory patterns of bears completely changed and most of them are just looking for a safe place to exist. Lake Tahoe seems to be the ideal vacation destination shared by a lot of bears in the wake of its people evacuation. RING cameras continue to capture their silly antics like bathing in coolers on abandoned decks. They’re even overtaking parts of Minnesota. Tennessee is no stranger to bears, either, and one such creature stirred up quite the traffic jam recently.
Why Did the Bear Cross the Road?
Newsweek reported on the traffic jam caused by a black bear who just wanted to hang out in the middle of a road for a few minutes. The bear spotting didn’t happen on the outskirts of Tennessee, but rather in the heart of the city of Gatlinburg. The bear found itself on the main Parkway surrounded by bustling restaurants, shops, and people. Cars abruptly came to a halt as not to hit the carnivore. (Unfortunately, this summer has seen a sharp rise in accidental bear hit and runs.) Those passersby left vulnerable without a vehicle quickly changed directions in order to avoid the bear’s path. The fuzzy guy didn’t stick around long– just long enough to make a commotion.
We’ve been pondering the age-old question “why did the chicken cross the road” for decades. It’s time to mix things up. So, we present to you: Why did the bear cross the road? The answer is up to you, really. While you drum up a clever response, check out these other bear encounters posted to TikTok by Tennessee locals.
The @burgbearwatch account shared the original encounter along with a handful of others to their TikTok page.
A Burger-lary
Some locals might be accustomed to the occasional run-in with bears by now. It quite literally comes with the territory, after all. Still, a group of bears delivered quite the shock to this man when they raided his Tennessee hang out merely moments after grilling with his family. Bears are very food-driven creatures and the unmistakable scent of freshly grilled burgers was too much for this sleuth not to investigate. The incredible footage shows the family of bears atop the grill and deck railing, accomplishing some pretty athletic feats on their way to their end goal of a nice lunch. After devouring every single crumb, they went about their merry way.
Check out the tweet below:
