Large bear near Tusculum University in Greeneville captured, relocated

GREENEVILLE, Tenn. (WJHL) – Some members of the Greeneville Fire Department (GFD) and Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency had their hands full Wednesday.

According to a social media post from the GFD, the department’s B-shift crews assisted the TWRA in relocating a bear from a residential area to a safe location in the mountains, far away from people.

The TWRA later posted saying the bear was 500 pounds.

Greene County Wildlife Officer David Carpenter released a statement saying a large bear had become accustomed to exploring an area near Tusculum University in Greeneville due to the access that it had to garbage, birdseed and pet food in the area. They believe that the bear has likely been in the area for several years but had just recently ramped up its activity, which included damaging property.

In 2021, wildlife professionals decided to try to trap the bear due to the damage and increasing potential for a negative interaction to occur but were unsuccessful. After the failed trapping attempt, the bear decided to alter his route, according to the statement.

After recent activity indicated that the bear was back, Wildlife officers Ryan Rosier, Austin Wilson and Carpenter located the bear in a vacant lot and subdued it with a tranquilizer.

After capturing the bear the wildlife officers enlisted the help of the GFD to help move the large bear to a transport cage. Carpenter states the fire department was glad to help and even offered some of their gear to help get the job done.

The statement concludes by saying that the bear has been relocated to a designated release site in Cherokee National Forest.