Gatlinburg Candy Shop Has No Idea How To Stop Pesky Bear Who’s Broken In 4 Times Since Christmas

One sweet shop in Gatlinburg, Tennessee is getting desperate after suffering their fourth bear-break-in since Christmas.

It’s estimated that around 400,000 bears live in the United States, and in certain parts of the country, residents have to always be on alert and keep an eye out for bears. Black bears make up most of that total number (around 300,000), and one place where you are almost guaranteed to see them is in Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

Millions of people flock to Smoky Mountain National Park every year to take in the beautiful scenery and witness the incredible wildlife (and moonshine tastings) that Gatlinburg has to offer. In fact, the National Park of the Great Smoky Mountains in the most visited national park in the country.

In the heart of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park is a family-friendly tourist destination. Those that have been before know that there’s no better place to go look at mountain, stay in a cabin, eat pancakes, and get drunk off of moonshine tastings (in no particular order). There’s also plenty of places to get freshly-made candy, and one of those very establishments has been through a lot since Christmas.

A place called Glades Homemade Candies, which has been in Gatlinburg for over three decades, has been targeted by a bear four separate times since the end of December. In basically a three-week period, the candy store has been broken into by the wild animal a handful of times, and this most recent incident was the worst of them all:

“A bear has ravaged our beloved candy shop for the fourth time, let us join hands in prayer that it is safely captured; we have nurtured our arts and crafts business in this community for 35 years, spreading joy and love to our customers, blessed by divine providence, but this persistent bear is a challenge we urgently need to overcome, we are grateful for your prayers.”

As you can gather by that above post, they believe that it’s the same bear that’s been causing the damage over and over again.

To be clear, bears typically don’t get aggressive towards humans. The only instances where black bears are known to get violent are when a) they are protecting cubs or b) they are looking for food. Considering they are very curious animals by nature, this bear probably discovered the candy shop, now knows that there is food there, and keeps coming back.

The beloved candy store shared that they’ve exhausted all preventative options, and are now asking the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency for assistance:

“We have taken every reasonable precaution to prevent the bear from accessing our property, including keeping doors secured, implementing additional security measures, and using bear-proof dumpsters.

The situation was reported to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency (TWRA) and has been turned over to the appropriate authorities for guidance and handling. As Gatlinburg natives, we deeply respect and care for our bears, our natural environment, and the Great Smoky Mountains.”

Here’s to hoping that Glades Homemade Candies figures out their problem sooner rather than later.The post Gatlinburg Candy Shop Has No Idea How To Stop Pesky Bear Who’s Broken In 4 Times Since Christmas first appeared on Whiskey Riff.