Smoky Mountain Bear Steals Dog Food From Porch [Video Included!]

When Josh White woke up last Thursday at his home in the Smoky Mountains, he heard a lot of commotion coming from his back porch. Initially, White assumed that his dog, whose name is “Bear”, was responsible for all of the noise. It turned out, however, that Bear was being framed, and the actual culprit was….a bear!

Josh filmed the furry visitor on his porch and sent the video over to local news station WBIR. You can watch the amazing video of the Smoky Mountain bear below:

A Bandit Caught Red Handed

What drew the black bear to the White home? Why, the irresistible scent of dog food, of course! Josh had left a cooler full of dog food on his back porch, and, apparently, the delicious smells of the canine chow prompted the hungry bear to investigate.

When the bear arrived at the house, he found a small fence blocking his entrance to the porch. Not to be deterred, the bear attempted to gracefully climb over the fence. After a bit of struggling, the fence fell over and the bear headed right for his prize.

As you can see in the video, the bear wasted no time grabbing the cooler with his teeth and dragging it into the backyard so he could feast on the dog food. The bear clearly liked what he tasted, because he proceeded to hijack the cooler and bring it back to his home in the woods.

Another Crazy Smoky Mountain Bear Story

The burglary of the White home isn’t the first crazy bear story of the summer. Back in July, a black bear decided to crash a pool party at Suzanne Whaley’s house in Gatlinburg! Suzanne was hosting some friends from France when a large bear came lumbering into the backyard to cool off in the Whaleys’ inflatable pool. You can watch a video of the entire incident here.

Tips for Seeing Black Bears in the Wild

While these rogue bear videos are always entertaining, you don’t want any bears visiting your cabin in the Smoky Mountains! To cut down on any unwanted guests, make sure you don’t leave any food (or dog food) outside and keep your trash bags in bins at all times.

The best way to see a Smoky Mountain bear during your vacation is from a safe distance in the national park. Here are a few tips for finding black bears in the wild:

• Visit Cades Cove or the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail and keep your eyes on the trees. These sections of the park are great for wildlife viewing because you can spot animals right from your car!

• The best times of day to see bears are the morning (6 – 10 a.m.) and the late afternoon (3 – 7 p.m.), as this is when bears are usually out searching for food.

• Don’t bother looking for bears in the winter because they will be hibernating inside of tree cavities. Black bears can be seen in every other season, with early fall being an especially good time to spot the critters as they stock up on food before hibernation.

• Always stay at least 150 feet away from a bear. Binoculars and telephoto lenses are perfect for watching bears from a distance.

• If a bear changes its behavior due to your presence, you are too close. Do not run; back away slowly while watching the bear.

• If a bear approaches you, make loud noises to scare it away and throw non-food objects if necessary.

For more information about everything to see and do in the Smokies, check out our Great Smoky Mountains National Park page!