mischievous bear
When a black bear acts mischievous in the Smoky Mountains it brings out the photographers, but when they do it around the campgrounds in Cades Cove, the rangers come out.
photo 1 
a few mintues after the park ranger tranquilizes a mischievous bear. ( photo 1)photo 2
four park rangers carry out the bear on a stretcher to a ‘viewing area’ to allow everyone to see the process involved in the exam, tagging and pre-relocating. (photo 2)photo 3 
the patient is waiting for the examination and tagging. (photo 3)photo 4 
rangers with their medical supplies. (just the ‘bare’ essentials)(photo 4)photo 5
putting in eye drops to moisten very dry eyes. (photo 5)photo 6
after a quick ‘overall’ scan of the bear, the rangers begin their detailed exam. they pull a tooth to get an accurate age of this female bear. (estimate is 5 years old) the pulling of the tooth is also a way to associate pain with the campgrounds, in hopes to prevent another visit. (photo 6)photo 7
an identification tag is clamped to the ear. each ID tag has a number that not only identifies the bear, but is also used to track the bear. the tag also alerts people to the fact that the bear was aggressive at one point and to use extra caution. (photo 7)photo 8
along with estimating weight (110lbs) (which we all know, is not polite to guess a female’s weight) hehe the rangers get a temperature (guess where?), examine mouth, paws & claws, and measurements of the overall length, width, legs, paws, head and jaw.(photo 8)photo 9 
in addition to the ear tag, the bear also receives a ‘tatoo’ of the same identifing numbers in the mouth and one on the rear shank. (photo 9)photo 10
different angle of the mouth tatoo. (photo 10)Once all the identification and examinations are completed, the rangers transport the bear outside the park to be released. Some bears find their way back to the park, even tho it may be hundreds of miles away.
Comments
Poor little thing. This makes me sad. I wish bears and people would always behave and get along so there would be no reason to have to do this. I also wonder if the tranquilizer works well enough that the bear will nor remember any of this,. Because, if people in a comma can sometimes recall things later…hmmmm….
Hey Lisa, this time of year food is scarce, so sometimes the bears go where the food is…picnic area or campgrounds, this particular bear came here before, so the rangers had no choice to do this. according to the rangers, the bear will remember this, that’s one of the reasons to pull the tooth (pain)
– dc witmer
Encountered a few, but never seen the rangers do their thing. There are a lot of bears in the park, I know. We have had them here at home too a couple of times. Cubs in a tree, I ran for my camera. Bear sign on the front steps. Bears got into the neighbors bee hives. Our place ajoins the Foothills Parkway. Down the street at Blackberry Farm Hotel, worked there for a while. My husband had to kill a bear that got after him and the employees. It was at the dumpster everyday eating that 4 star cooking. The claws are on a necklace with Indian Trade Beads. I designed a postcard with them at Zazzle.com GSMNP Native American Heritage
it was very educational on the procedures performed during the examination
– dc witmer