Bear Burglar Swipes Allergy Medicine, 8 Pounds of Candy

Animal surprised friends staying in Gatlinburg, Tenn., on Friday
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted May 12, 2020 8:37 AM CDT

Friends visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park received a shock over the weekend when a black bear came knocking. Michelle Eberhart of Shelbyville, Ind., says she and a friend noticed a black bear trying to force its way through the back door of their rental cabin in Gatlinburg, Tenn., on Friday morning, while the women's husbands were out golfing, per WATE and the Knoxville News Sentinel. "And then the door opens," Eberhart tells WATE. The women ran to a bedroom, where they noticed three other bears lingering on the porch. That's when they called police.

Officers helped remove the bears, who apparently liked candy. "They got 5 pounds of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and a pound of M&M's and two pounds of Sour Patch Kids and two bags of potato chips … two beers and two Diet Cokes and about 20 Zyrtecs," Eberhart tells WATE. Matt Cameron of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency says the bears are coming out of winter hibernation but do not typically go to homes for food. "That means those bears have been around humans and have received handouts or have found a food source around a dwelling," he says. (More black bear stories.)

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