‘He’s just relaxing, chilling out.’ Video shows bear unwinding in Tennessee hot tub
Sometimes bears need to decompress, too.
At least that was the case for one black bear that recently found its way into a hot tub at a Tennessee house.
Todd Trebony, who was vacationing at the house in Gatlinburg, captured videos of the bear melting its worries away in the hot tub and posted them to Instagram on Sunday.
The first video shows the bear crawling along the porch railing before hopping down to check out the hot tub.
It tests the water with its paws for a bit before committing and climbing in.
“Just having a blast,” Trebony says while videoing the bear from a distance. “Just got in the jacuzzi. Whatever.”
A second video shows the bear floating around in the hot tub, seemingly undisturbed by being videoed.
“Look, he’s just relaxing, chilling out,” Trebony says.
Although seeing one soak in a hot tub is rare, black bears are no strangers to the Gatlinburg area.
The bear population is growing in Tennessee, and the mountain town sits on the edge of the Great Smoky Mountains, where the National Park Service estimates 1,500 bears live.
It’s also the time of year when bears are out and about more often.
“In many areas of Tennessee, it is fairly common to (see) bears near human dwellings during the spring and summer months,” the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency says. “This time of year natural foods may be limited and bears could be looking for an easy meal. Bears have an incredible sense of smell and are likely being lured by some type of food attractant.”
Bears are also curious but tend to be “very elusive and shy animals,” so they usually avoid people, the agency says.
But they’re not always as chill as the one seen relaxing in the hot tub and should therefore not be approached.
“Bears in the park are wild and their behavior can be unpredictable,” the NPS says. “Although extremely rare, attacks on humans have occurred, inflicting serious injuries and death. Treat bear encounters with extreme caution!”
Those who encounter a bear should “remain watchful” and and should not approach it.
“If your presence causes the bear to change its behavior (stops feeding, changes its travel direction, watches you, etc.) you are too close,” the park service says.
This story was originally published March 24, 2021 at 1:26 PM with the headline "‘He’s just relaxing, chilling out.’ Video shows bear unwinding in Tennessee hot tub."
