A man who went into Great Smoky Mountains National Park to poach ginseng root (pictured here) might have been killed by a bear/NPS
A black bear believed to have scavenged on the body of a man who went to Great Smoky Mountains National Park to collect ginseng roots was killed Sunday morning by park rangers. Whether the adult boar actually killed the man remained to be determined, park staff said.
William Lee Hill, Jr., 30, of Louisville, Tenn., and a friend had gone into the park near Cades Cove a week ago Friday to hunt for ginseng, a root used by some as a traditional home medicine. Prices can go as high as $800 a pound for ginseng. While the root can be collected outside the park, it is illegal to do so inside the boundaries.
When Hill failed to meet up with his friend, a search was launched last Sunday. The man's body was found Tuesday afternoon in the woods about 2 miles north of Cades Cove and about a half-mile from the Rich Mountain Road.
Searchers who found the body, which had signs of being fed on, saw a bear in the area. It "would not leave the area, and continued to show aggression towards our searchers and others who came in to remove the body," park spokeswoman Julena Campbell said Sunday.
Since it wasn't known whether the bear had killed Hill, the decision was made to place a GPS radio collar on the bear and let it go pending further information, she said. While rangers were putting the collar on the bear, they found evidence of human DNA on it, she said.
On Wednesday, park staff, in discussions with Superintendent Cassius Cash, decided to destroy the bear. However, the GPS collar placed on the animal was programmed to send out location signals every two or three hours, and so it took longer than expected to relocate the bear, said Ms. Campbell.
Additional traps were placed near where Hill's body was found, and while the bear didn't go into any of them, on Sunday morning shortly before 10 a.m. when the traps were checked the bear was seen in the area and was killed, she said.
A necropsy on the bear, which was estimated to weigh about 175 pounds, was planned. Park officials also were awaiting autopsy results on Hill to determine how he died.
"This one’s a complicated case," Ms. Campbell said. "We don’t know what we'll find out.”
Comments
I do not hunt but would shoot to protect my life or yours. Ginseng hunters are or can be very destructive to the environment. To say that all killing of the bears is wrong is just as bad. Common sense must be used. How are you going to regulate where humans can go or what they eat? Are we going to the stage in which our nutrition comes from a pill? People who do not eat meat are no more healthy than those that do. So many of the so-called medical studies that have been published supportive of one side or the other are poor science or downright lies. Lets just rush out and make dozens of new laws to support whichever side I like. It is time to use common sense, talk to each other and listen to God who made all things.
I agree with Ms Williams, they could have captured the bear until they determined the cause of death of the illegal poacher. I was in the GSM the week before, i saw NO signs of wildlife. To me, its no different than if some human was breaking into my home, and my dog bites them. So, sign me up for your petition Ms Williams
I completely agree with you! I love the area but yes it is a recipe for disaster! Closing down trails is something I would love to see happen and would allow the bears a place to live and not be disturbed.
First and foremost my heart goes out to the young man and his family,God forbid if he has children. I goes along with my family once a year to the great smokies and we love it. But what price do we put on another human life is beyond my wildest thinking to suggest that animals value is more than ours,not suggesting that we slaughter animals in their habitat that have fatal run ins with us,but there has to be more strict measures to protect each species without pointing fingers. So first please mourn the fact that someones dad,brother,son,or uncle has died perhaps tragicly;he will be missed.
We live in a world raised on Walt Disney and Grizzly Adams where animals are viewed as playful creatures. All animals, not just bears, can and will harm you if they feel threatened. I've seen parents urging small children to "stand near the bear cub so we can get a picture". It simply fascinates me that so many have survived to adulthood. This particular bear was likely just feeding on a corpse it found and wasn't doing anything bears don't do, but suffered the consequences. Several people have disappeared in GSMNP over the years, do a Google search, so this is not as isolated as it may appear. People near to realize that when you enter into bear country you are no longer at the top of the food chain.
A travel to the Great Smoky Mountains from Gainesville Georgia at least once a month. I see black bears pretty much every time I go. I have seen people actually attempt to walk up to black bears as if the bear was a pet. A 150 pound black bear is not something to be toyed with. Leave the Bears alone. I believe that there should be warning signs asking people if they have their bear spray if they're going hiking in the forest. Or if they even know how to ward off a bear attack to increase your chances of survival. Why not have this information readily available on flashing signs entering the park and throughout the park? Why not put some type dispenser with bear spray or even first aid kits at the beginning of hiking trails? Someone's going to say that there is a cost restriction on this being something that is feasible. But if it saves a life of a human being or another black bear I think it would be worth the cost. Just like we use solar power for everything else we can use solar power to power a vending machine. Does that not make sense? I think we should stop demonizing animals in the Forest simply because they're doing what animals do and we as humans are continuously trespassing in their domain and expecting them to behave like our household pet..
I truly believe thiscwas a horrible decision. How could you kill A bear that is living in his world and being invaded by humans. Plus you don't even know if the man was killed by him. This is crazy And needs to stop.
I hear you! I have similar feelings about this issue. Small trails are fine but longer or overnight hikers should be more scrutinized for their competence.
These beautiful animals pay the price for human stupidity while they're where they're supposed to be;in their habitat.