Sevierville man out of the hospital after bear attack

Tennessee Wildlife officials say a bear attacked a man Friday afternoon, near Club Chalet on Ski Mountain Road in Gatlinburg.

Max Lemmons, 50, suffered minor wounds to his face, chest, and arm. Lemmons drove himself to a Sevierville hospital where he was treated and released.

Witnesses say Lemmons was trying to take pictures of the mother bear and her two cubs around 3:30 Friday afternoon near the Club Chalet in Gatlinburg.

"Their door was open," Suzette Willis recalled. "The dog got out."

Willis said the dog started chasing after the cubs when their mother got involved.

"The bear come down had her (the dog) pinned," Willis said. "Max went to go kick her (the bear) and grab the dog. That's when the bear just swatted."

At first, Willis thought the bear missed as Max took his dog into the Chalet offices.

"I didn't know there was any blood until I saw the blood drops going into the office and noticed his face was cut open. He had some scrapes on his arm," Willis recalled.

The dog was fine. While Lemmons was driving himself to Sevierville for medical car, TWRA officials went into the woods looking for the bear. Because the TWRA received reports of aggressive behavior from a bear in that region before Friday's incident, crews decided euthanizing the bear was a necessity. They fired one shot at the bear, which retreated into the woods. TWRA crews set a trap and will resume search efforts tomorrow.

"A bear has attacked a human being," TWRA Spokesman Willard Perryman said. "In my career this has never happened here in Gatlinburg (outside the Smoky Mountains). I'm not comfortable having a bear run around after having attacked a man with no consequence."

Willis said the bear had been in the area her whole life and walked around the Chalet before. She is upset the mother bear is getting a death sentence for trying to defend her cubs.

"This is her territory," Willis said. "We live here, but this is all of her territory back here."

"It's sad," Perryman admitted. "I don't like that decision. But, I would rather play it safe than I would take a chance on someone getting hurt worse the next time."

TWRA crews did find the two cubs. They will be raised at Appalachian Bear Center in Townsend and returned to the wild.

Wildlife experts estimate the black bear population is up at least 10% over the last 20 years. They say people spotting a black bear should never run or take their eyes off the bear. They recommend just backing away slowly and making loud noises to scare the bear away. As a last resort, experts say drop belongings and food. They say it is also a good idea to not leave garbage or any kind of food out because it can attract bears. Black bears are more apt to react if they feel their food or cubs are being threatened.