Feeding Bears in the Smokies Can Cost You $5,000 or 6 Months in Jail

Three Incidents in One Week Prompted Warning

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is fed up with visitors feeding bears. In early August 2025, rangers responded to three separate incidents in just one week.

One visitor at Maloney Point got a citation after feeding a mother bear and her two cubs. The park is now reminding everyone that feeding wildlife is a federal crime, and the consequences are steep.

What makes this so dangerous goes beyond the obvious, and it often ends badly for the bears.

A Mother and Cubs Got Fed

The incident at Maloney Point involved a visitor who was observed feeding a mother bear and her two cubs. Law enforcement rangers issued a citation for this offense.

This wasn’t a one-time problem. The park received reports of three separate incidents in which visitors intentionally fed bears during the same week.

Rangers say the pattern is troubling because each feeding teaches bears that humans mean food.

Fines Reach $5,000

Feeding wildlife in the park is a federal offense and can result in fines of up to $5,000 or imprisonment for up to six months. That’s not a slap on the wrist.

Park officials enforce these penalties because the stakes are high for both visitors and wildlife.

The citation at Maloney Point shows rangers are serious about cracking down on this behavior, especially during peak bear season.

Bears Are Extra Active Right Now

Currently, bear activity is especially high due to a scarcity of natural food sources combined with the stressors of peak breeding season. Late summer is a tough time for bears in the Smokies.

Berries and other natural foods haven’t fully ripened, so bears wander into developed areas looking for easy calories. That means more encounters with visitors and more chances for dangerous interactions.

Young Bears Are Learning to Survive

Mother bears are also separating from their 18-month-old yearlings, leaving these young bears to navigate survival on their own for the first time.

These inexperienced juveniles are more likely to wander into populated areas, increasing the risk of encounters with humans.

A young bear that gets a handout from a tourist learns the wrong lesson at the worst possible time.

1,900 Bears Share the Park

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to approximately 1,900 American black bears spread across more than 800 square miles.

The Smokies feature a high black bear population density of approximately two bears per square mile. The park is the most visited national park in the United States, with around 12 million visitors each year.

That combination makes human-bear encounters almost inevitable.

One Handout Changes Everything

Bears learn quickly. Feeding a bear even once can lead to that bear seeking out humans for food.

Feeding a bear even once can result in that bear becoming conditioned to human food, losing its natural fear of humans. Once that happens, the bear starts approaching campsites, cars, and picnic areas.

It stops being afraid of people and starts seeing them as a food source.

Food-Conditioned Bears Get Euthanized

A food-conditioned bear is more likely to be hit by a car as it seeks out human food and may exhibit more aggressive behavior toward visitors.

In some cases, feeding a bear can result in the euthanasia of the animal. When food-conditioned bears become aggressive they often must be relocated or euthanized.

What seems like a harmless moment can end with rangers having to put down a bear.

Keep Food Locked Up Tight

Keep all food, trash and scented items in a locked, hard-sided vehicle. In backcountry areas, use bear cables to hang food properly.

Bears have an incredible sense of smell and can detect food from miles away. Coolers left on picnic tables, snacks in tents, and even scented toiletries attract them.

The park provides bear cables at backcountry campsites specifically for hanging food out of reach.

The 50-Yard Rule Is Law

Never feed or approach bears. Stay at least 50 yards (150 feet) away.

Violating this regulation can result in fines and arrest. That distance is about half a football field.

If your presence causes a bear to change its behavior, you’re already too close. Predatory behavior, from bears, such as stalking has occurred in the park.

Call Rangers If You See Something

If you see someone feeding or approaching a bear, or if you witness a bear acting unusually, report it to park authorities immediately: (865) 436-1230.

Visitors play a direct role in keeping bears wild and keeping other visitors safe. A quick phone call can prevent someone from getting hurt and might save a bear’s life.

The Bears Need You to Do Nothing

The simplest thing you can do for the bears in the Smokies is leave them alone. Don’t feed them.

Don’t approach them. Don’t leave food where they can find it.

The park experiences an average of 339 negative bear encounters every year. Every one of those encounters puts a bear one step closer to losing its life.

The best wildlife encounter is the one where both sides walk away unchanged.

Visiting Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee

The park spans the border of Tennessee and North Carolina, with main entrances near Gatlinburg and Cherokee. Admission is free, though a parking tag costs $5 per day or $40 per year.

The park is open 24 hours, but most facilities and visitor centers operate from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

with extended summer hours. Cades Cove and Cataloochee Valley are popular spots for wildlife viewing, including bears.

Bring binoculars and keep your distance.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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