Video Shows Gatlinburg Visitors Feeding Bears at Lodge

Guests staying at the Sidney James Mountain Lodge in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, were seen feeding bears on Tuesday, June 25. Michelle Payne, who captured the moment on camera, said "there were two bears on the river and multiple guests of Sidney James Mountain Lodge throwing food to them from their balconies." According to Payne, a police officer eventually came to the lodge and scared the bears off with his siren. "This seems to be a common occurrence as I was told by a guest they returned," Payne told Storyful. The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission https://bearwise.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/gatlinburg-tn-ordinance.pdf prohibits people from "intentionally or knowingly [feeding] a black bear or intentionally or knowingly [leaving] food or garbage in a manner that attracts bears." (Footage by Michelle Payne/Storyful via Getty Images UGC)