KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Gatlinburg resident Kris Underwood was going about his day when a bear walked into town, but it wasn’t the bear that surprised him.
“We looked up and we noticed that there’s a young woman in her family who are now approaching the bear even closer, and the woman is literally down on her knees trying to approach the bear so she can pet it. And feed it, and he’s actually reached out and gave it a little bit of food, I think, or at least came close to to petting the bear,” said Underwood, who lives in Gatlinburg.
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A video of that encounter went viral on social media. Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency spokesperson Matt Cameron explained that the video shows a woman encouraging the bear to approach her and at one point, the woman even acts like she might pet the bear.
“In another video, you see a young lady squatted down, you know, face to face with the bear, and it appears like she grabs a plastic bag and pour something on the ground, I can’t really tell what it is, in an attempt to feed the bear. So just a very irresponsible behavior,” Cameron said…