Don't Mess With Mama Bear
1999 Honorable Mention
Confirmed True by Darwin
(15 July 1999, Tennessee) An Alabama man disobeyed a fundamental rule of nature when he videotaped a bear cub frolicking near the road in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. When the cub became bored and trotted back into the woods, the cameraman followed him through a thicket, only to come face to face with Mama Bear and two more cubs. Mama naturally chased the intruder, swiping at him but not actually striking him. The cameraman, understandably fleet of foot, fled hastily into some broken tree limbs, which stabbed him in the groin and abdomen. Managing to escape without further injury, he was taken to a local hospital for treatment. The Park Service will remove dangerous animals from the park, but in this case determined that the bear acted only to protect her cubs and decided to leave her alone. We suggest that it is the cameraman who should be removed to a more remote area.
Confirmed True by Darwin
