whenever black bears are mentioned as being
dangerous i think of a trip my parents, my daughter and i took to the smokey
mts. we stopped at an over look and as i am always itching to get
into the "unseen" places in the mts. as my family ohhed and awwed at the
scenery i walked up a high and steep rock bnk that had natural and
very narrow switch backs. i roamed around for a while and coming
back when i was about half way down i heard laughing and hollering. a
black bear had stolen someone's lunch and was making his getaway coming up
toward me. i knew i didn't have time to get back to the top and i knew the
"path" wasn't near wide enough for both of us. someone was going to have
to give and i figured it might ought to be me. the only thing i saw to get
me out of his way was a rock sticking out, small and pointy. i pushed my
behind on that rock with legs dangling out in space and hoped it was
anchored well. as i watched the bear come i saw my little bitty five ft. mother
climbing behind the bear as fast as she could go. at times she was on her
hands and knees but she kept coming. the bear passed me so closely that i
felt hair brush against me. as mom and i went down together i asked her
what she was going to do if that big bad bear had grabbed me. she said she
didn't know but she'd have done something!! i have no doubt she'd have
grabbed that bear and whipped him within an inch of his life. aren't moms
grand!!
patty in georgia
Man does not have the only memory, The animals remember, The earth
remembers, The stones remember, If you know how to listen, they will tell
you many things.
Bears are unpredictable. Don't let anyone
tell you that a black bear is not dangerous -- they are actually considered
more dangerous than grizzlies. Probably because they are more
acclimated to humans.
