Tuesday 
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.”
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Comments
Although I agree with ALL CAPS being rude, "sanctimonious" pretty much describes the rest of your comment.
My Cherokee friends whose land was the park, KILL and eat bear every year if they can. She... You!!!! If not the bears would gobble them up, city dwellers
Black bears do not generally attack humans, if the humans are following standard wilderness practices! I've encountered black bears more times that I can count...NEVER have I had a bad encounter.
I enjoy watching the bears at a distance. A very large distance. I do not wish to see any bears euthanized because of human stupidity. It makes me sick seeing visitors get really close to them in cades cove and surrounding them without a way to escape. They should wear signs that can be picked up at the ranger's station that says "I am stupid." These are beautiful animals, I agree but, they are also very powerful animals. Use your head people. Dont get close to a wild animal. It is stupid to do so. And trust me, its not just GSMNP, they are everywhere. They exsist at every national park as far as I can tell. They step over the boundaries set by the park to take pictures, to touch plants and even disturb wild life. And when something happens they say, "why did park officials do something?" Read the signs people, read the signs!
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
They collared and released the bear then went back and recaptured it, I presume after the evidence collected from it turned out to be human DNA. Read, people. Andif you do a tiny bit of research you'll find out that bears do hunt stalk and attack people, aggression is not always defensive. Years ago a bearentered a residential areain the Catskills and took a baby and ate it. Bears remember food sources and will persist in obtaining whatever is tasty and obtainable. Oncethey findout humans are tasty, they can figure out that they don't have to wait forone to die of other causes in order to have a meal ofone.
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.
TThst didnt punish the bear for the killing, the bear was put down bc of threat he posed on other humans after eating one
Amen
I was just talking to my husband about the bear and he said the exact same thing. They had to put him down because he has the taste of human flesh. I feel incredibly sad for Mr Hill and the best. A no win scenario.
man can go and hunt bears but bears cant do the same ppl respect the woods its the little land we left them behind so sad
Remember. When you go into the home where wildlife live, you are no longer at the top of the food chain. Being it woods or water.
I believe we need to verify how that young man died. Did he have a heart attack, fall hit his head, etc? Maybe he died and wildlife started scavenging on this body and bear claimed him as food source? Was he caught off guard at night time? He is in their territory. Whose to say. But facts need determined first.. Understand that bear does not need mixed with humans, relocate him!! Obviously too late now. I have been following this story since it happened and will continue to follow. What's fair ????
regardless of what opinions anyone has the bear now has thebtaste of blood and to keep others safe he has to go...I love bears and I love to see them but I do think human life is a lot more important than a bear life... so we do what we have to do to keep everyone safe that wants to get to see the beauty of that place without the fear of being gobbled up by a bear
That's not how it works. While this guy may have been doing something illegal, the bear can't distinguish between someone who may be in the area illegally collecting vs someone legally hiking off trail. There have been predatory attacks at front-country campgrounds where everything was done legally. It's not necessarily that anyone did anything wrong.
As for the plants, yes there are Asian communities where they especially value wild American ginseng that has a certain more natural appearance - especially close to the appearance of a human with arms and legs. Farmed varieties tend to be more uniform in appearance and are generally trimmed. I doubt there's any science to it. It's more or less superstition.
All of you do gooders just remember. You are living in a place that was taken from the bears many years ago. Are you going to move? And if not....why? I am an avid hiker and backpacker. This planet was made and given to us by God to enjoy. I have as much right to enjoy the forest as does the bear. I just need to behave appropriately when I'm in his backyard. The same goes for the bear.
As Mrs Williams stated, it truly is sad to see the unfortunate end of a bear when it crosses or is forced to cross that line. Sad as that is, there is a situation even sadder.
First of all, I remove my hat to the law enforcement Personnel that risk their own safety for the welfare of others. The decisions they make are not easy ones, nor do they enjoy situations like the one that has lead us to this discussion. I highly respect the work they do, and the conservation efforts that have been instigated by their agency that has ensured thus far the maintenance of forest and wildlife with their benefits we enjoy today.
Secondly, the man who lost his life if while illegally harvesting ginseng could have just as easily been a naturalist or botanist photographing the plant which happens to be perfectly legal. It also could have been a hiker or a child. The bear did not weigh the actions of its prey before striking with a strength and speed that many couldn‘t come close to escaping.
Truth is, the man who’s Life was taken may very well have not been ready to face eternity. When we value any animal over the eternal soul of man, we have ourselves become brute beast without natural affection, and as unmerciful as any rogue bear in the Great Smokey Mountains. God help us.
So wrong. When has a black bear ever killed a man in gsm. Decades ago.
So many comments based on insufficient information. Sometimes you have to be okay with not understanding exactly what happened and be disciplined enough to hold your comments until the investigation is complete.
I agree Doug. Wish they would have done that in the case of the bear.
Depends on what the person is doing. There was a grizzly attack in Wyoming that resulted in a fatality, and that happened was that a legal hunter was going back to dress the elk that he'd killed the day before. It was apparently very odd because the bear didn't seem to care about the elk. Usually they'll avoid people. Black bears even more so.
Relocation just doesn't work. They can't be relocated far enough where they'll never see another person. If they're aggressive towards people, then they'll be aggressive where they're relocated. Even if the bear manages to stay in the area, the locals will be furious that a "problem bear" (especially one that's killed a person) was turned into their problem. I've heard of plenty of stories where this was tried (never where a black bear killed a person) and the bear managed to return to the area.
Wow, these comments are truly frightening. First, no one even knows at this point if this man was killed by a bear, had a heart attack, fell and hit his head or any one of many other possibilities. But lets assume he was indeed attacked and killed by this bear. You still don’t know what precautions this man did or did not take nor what any of the circumstances were. He could have stripped naked and smothered himself in honey or been armed with a dozen cans of bear spray and singing the star spangled banner for all you know. As for being in the bears home. Just what makes it the bears home any more than ours? To say that bears have always done this sort of thing well guess what, so have humans. I am not going to defend the poaching of anything but harvesting ginseng or walking in the woods is hardly as one commenter stated, a “dangerous” activity. And tell me where your love of bears comes from? Is it from an illustrated picture book? A zoo? Watching them on National Geographic? How do you suppose you know what a bear is if not for the fact that someone got close enough to obsereve them in the first place? Were they irresponsible and deserved death too? I guess some here feel we should ban people from the parks and forests and everyone should just stay indoors (dont ask me where the materials for those homes are supposed to come from). It is a shame a man is dead and a bear was killed as a result, but It was the right thing to do.
It doesn't sound as if you have a very good understanding of typical American Black bear behavior. They're not particularly aggressive. They're in fact rather timid, and some theorize it's because it's wired into their psyche to run away from the more dangerous grizzlies that coexisted with them. I've seen them and although I was cautious I wasn't fearful. Many have noted that black bears with cubs will even run away and then return later to retrieve them.
This was unusual behavior. It can't be attributed to black bears simply doing what they're doing. Even if it just came across a body, predation on humans is also highly unusual.
We just got back from Glacier. There there are signs everywhere and you are told to carry bear spray out on the trails and they even have short classes on how to identify different ones,what to dowhen you see one up close and how to shoot the bearspray when you need to. i guess I would have liked to see the rangers wait for info as they had a way of keeping tabs on that particular bear. As to Gatlinburg,the bears are way too comfortable around us. A bear just came up the gully, over the low fence and ambled around the swimming pool scaring everybody out of there. I suggested to the managers of the place that maybe they should put up a real fence on the wild side of the pool. They just shrugged and said the bears go everywheres anyway, they were even found on the third floor of one of the Ripleys a while back. It's a tough question except for the part about people being really deeply uninformed and stupid, which is not the bear's fault.
I’ve trout fished WNC all my life and I’ve had a few experiences with black bear. When you’re fishing, you might see wet paw prints on the rocks, hear a bear crossing the stream to evade you as you walk up on a hole, or catch a glimpse of a bear running away from you but in most of WNC the bears are pretty wild and scared of humans because they get hunted and in a lot areas they’re dog hunted. Those type of bears are pretty predictable, they haul butt as soon as they see or smell a human.
However, the park bears have little fear of humans and are much less unpredictable. I was fishing solo at Hazel Creek and spotted a bear above me and it was intently watching me. I started slowly walking back down the creek to the shoreline to get back to where I beached my boat. That bear paralleled me from the wood line all the way out. When I stopped, it stopped, when I moved forward, it moved forward. It was definitely paralleling me which I knew too well can be the precursor to an attack. I didn’t dare run or even look towards it but I could see it up there less than 50 yards from me out of the corner of my eye. I knew any second that bear could charge down the hill and be upon me. It was the longest walk of my life. When I got to the boat, I untied it, let it drift it out into the channel and just sat there quietly having an aneurism from all the adrenaline rushing thru my body.
I have no problem with the killing of this bear. If I walked up on a bear guarding the remains of a human, I wouldn’t even have to think about, I’d shoot that bear. It’s not like the park will miss it. There’s probably too many boars in the park as it is and that can contribute to the bear population becoming frenetic and unstable.
I know the bear huggers would squeal but something needs to be done to put some fear of humans back into the park bears. Perhaps a limited hunt by well qualified hunters. Or allow some bear dog training in the park.
The re-introduction of the black bear in North America is the most successful large mammal reintroduction ever attempted in the world. Black bear populations are doing well all over, growing and expanding in every state where they occur, and that means there will be more human/bear conflicts.
There is. For decades NPS wildlife management has been using hazing techniques - from pyrotechnics to paintballs and even rubber bullets fired from real shotguns. For the most part these bears aren't stalking humans - especially not black bears. They're looking for food. If there's any loss of their natural fear of humans, it's because they've been conditioned to lose some of it because they've managed to obtain high-calorie food sources that people haven't properly stored.
If it doesn't work, then yeah killing them is the only solution. I'd love a world where that wasn't necessarily, but it is.
Too bad for this bear that we live in his backyard, that’s not going to change. Relocating a bear who either killed or attacked a person won’t work, there are people everywhere now. Even at our cabin in the middle of nowhere there was a bear on the porch 3 days ago. Bears roam and rarely stay where you want them to, and will encounter someone at some point. Would you want this bear to pop-up at your child’s bus stop? Or at the grocery store parking lot early in morning while your putting your food in the car? Neither situation would be good. He has to be euthanized. If a bear does not naturally avoid people he’s a problem, and sometimes it’s our fault by not keeping trash put away, or making enough noise on the trail. Doesn’t matter either way, the bear will pay the price if the encounter goes wrong. Some people are just stupid and do the most idiotic things like getting to close to bison, etc. A lot of tv shows give people the impression that wild animals aren’t that dangerous, wrong. Perfect example, Treadwell in Alaska walking openly among brown bears in their habitat, not only got himself killed but his girlfriend as well. Terribly irresponsible TV, you would think people would realize that was a bad idea but they put it on TV anyway. Bears don’t care if your 5 year old is picking blackberries on her first hike with Mom and Dad, or you’re poaching ginseng, if bear is in bad mood or wants your berries you could die. Plain and simple. We are ultimately responsible for our own personal safety and our childrens. You take a risk when you drive a car, walk in the woods, bring home a giant python, or a cute little pit bull puppy for your kids. If the pit bull mauls or heaven forbid, kills your child, the dog dies, same for the bear. You can’t take the chance. Rangers don’t kill bears because they want too, sometimes they have no choice. It could be your kid next time, then you want to blame them for not doing something.
There are monsters in the woods. Everything that eats meat will eat you if it gets hungry, even ants! Take protection and another guy with protection, then a third guy with a freaken gun you dummies. Bears, bucks, wolves, boar, mountain lions, and more are out to get easy food, or just keep their families safe. If they don't get you, the real monsters will, people. Don't be a dummie, you'll wind up in a critters tummy!
While the actions of this individual was not inside the law, it was not an act that warrants the heartless, animal loving comments or suggestions that man step down in all ways for animals. As stated in many articles through the years the park service or wildlife agencies do not have to euthanize very many wild creatures and if they do it is for the concern for human life. The bear population has grown in leaps and bounds over the last decade with success through management efforts of government agencies as well as hunting and hunters contributions! In all of the encounters between Humans and bears here in Tennessee most are at a distance and with no consequence except for the one in a million bear that has no fear. This will mostly occur in the park where people treat them like dogs who wouldn't hurt a fly yet almost unheard of in areas where they respect people due to hunting. To say that all people should be treated criminally for entering the woods is an uneducated opinion of a dreamer and one who seems to prefer the lives of an animal over a human. To me that is inhuman!
I will be the first to sign the petition to protect the bears. Humans were given the god given gift of common sense and thought. Start using these gifts.
AS DEMAND FOR GINSENG SOARS
BY CARRIE ARNOLD 11 OCTOBER 2016
AS DEMAND FOR GINSENG SOARS, POACHERS THREATEN ITS SURVIVAL
A handful of park rangers and conservationists are trying to protect the valuable and wild root from extinction.
https://www.nationalgeographic.com.au/people/as-demand-for-ginseng-soars...
m13cli, if you’ve not yet had the chance, take a walk through china town in a major city like new York, San Francisco or Chicago. It is fascinating to go into one of the stores that sells ginseng and see the various prices based on quality, age etc. Not to mention the huge variety of other herbal remedies. As far as going extinct they must be talking about wild ginseng because it is commercially grown on farms quite successfuly (and profitably).
A large Asian mall in the suburbs will have that sort of thing too.
However, there's a huge premium for the wild (or even simulated wild) American ginseng. Part of it may be based on higher levels of ginsenosides, but in the end it's possible to get more of that from farmed ginseng by using more or by concentrated extracts. The premium paid for wild often has to do with the appearance. Farmed is also grown for a few years because it reaches marketable size quickly, then additional growth is slow - similar to abalone. The reason why people are going into national parks is because the wild ginseng outside of national parks have been extensively collected. Obviously a place where one isn't supposed to collect will have the best examples. Kind of like how Evel Knieval used to guarantee (as a hunting guide) bagging an elk. Only his method was to take his clients into Grand Teton or Yellowstone.
The more gnarled or one that looks like a human seem to fetch the highest prices. A would have to be chalked up to superstition. Some people see Jesus in a tortilla. Others see heads, arms, and legs sprouting from a ginseng root.
Agree with comments stating people need to use more common sense in bear country. However, that has no context in this case. Just because he was illegally poaching ginseng off-trail doesn’t mean anything towards his common sense towards bear safety. Bears are everywhere in the park...doesnt matter if you are off-trail or in Cades Cove parking lot, they are around you. To me, sounds like a horrible accident to someone doing something illegal...2 different stories.
I believe someone is out there doing these crimes and getting away with it. leave the bear out because that bear probably smelled the mans body and ended up devouring Him. Idk. Something just don’t seem right Here. Now another person gone missing weeks after this man has passed. But anyways,
Rip and condolences to the mans family, and I hope they find the missing woman.
It takes a special kind of individual to equate predator protection to Communism.
That's a poor understanding of bear behavior. An American black bear committing a predatory attack on a person or consuming human flesh is not a bear being a bear. That is highly unusual, aberrant behavior. What this guy did (even poaching) isn't much different than a trail worker or a biologist in the field. The chances of death would be greater from the vehicle ride to the trailhead than as a consequence of being attacked by an American black bear. And where bears are living on the edge of human habitats, the biggest issue is really about bears getting easy food rather than any substantial danger to people.
There are millions of people every year who go hiking (even in grizzly bear habitat) who come out unscathed.
I have heard of cases where a grizzly sow with cubs might have attacked and even killed a human without any predatory behavior or attempt to consume the body. That was considered a bear being a bear, and some of those cases the bear wasn't put down.
I suspect the bear did not kill the man. Nothing is said in the story about the man being mauled but only being fed on. The bear could have fed on the body as well as other animals known to be in the Smokies. I wish the Park Service had just captured and held the bear until the cause of the man's death could be determined and if the bear was not the cause, release it to another part of the Park. They do that all the time for "problem bears", so why the rush to kill this one? I have backpacked nearly 300 miles of trail in the Smokies including the entire length of the A.T. and saw fewer than a dozen bears. I carry bear spray and hang my food at night even before the cable system that the Park now uses, and not once have I had a problem with a bear. Most will run when they see you because bears fear man. Even grizzly and I have hiked in the western mtns in grizzly habitat too. Only when cornered or surprised or when defending their young or if really sick do bears attack. There is ample food in the forests for the bear and apparently this one was not sick b/c it weighed 175 lbs. My guess is it was aggressive b/c it was trying to defend what it determined was a food supply. Anyway, I am always sad to hear of another human, man or woman, dying in the Park and also sad to learn of another bear killed for doing what comes natural to it. I understand the Park Service's concern, but without evidence of mauling, it was premature to put down the bear. Of course it seems to be prevaling "wisdom" in the Park Service that if a bear taste human blood, it will attack another human somewhere. I agree with many commenters that the first comment about removing all humans from the forests was over the top. We can live and coexist with the animals of the forests. We have for centuries. But it requires respect for the forest habitat and respect for the animals, big and small. The Native Americans had that respect and do today, taking only what they need for life and leaving the rest. Modern man could learn much from the Natives.
You must have missed the part he was acting aggressively!
many types of people, many types of bears, too Many internet warriors.
We should all go take a hike
Look, the park is not a zoo. if Anything the bears and other wildlife in the park are negatively impacted due to being over-protected. Bears have coexisted with large numbers of people for thousands of years, and continue to do so, in large measure, because they develop a innate fear and avoidance of humans. In a “normal“ community, a bear with no fear of humans tends to not live very long. But in the park, due to mismanagement and over protection, bears can and do lose their natural ”fear” of humans over several generations and we end up with conflicts and problem animals. Almost every “problem bear” in the southern Appalachians has originated from the GSMNP.
same thing with fire, that Tammy mentioned above, decades of over-protection of the forest from fire has led to a much more dangerous fire potential, especially in vast, continuous acreages of forest like is in the park, (which, by the way, is also very un-natural, again due to overprotection).
Time for Cassius Cash to go 14 dead two years ago Two dead by bears this and still hiding the facts
In the past three years Indiana Counties of Floyd, Harrison, and Clark have experienced visits from blacks bears. Given the size of the bears ranging from medium 4-5 year old to younger ones the next year. It has become evident they are not the same bears. They are on the move and experiencing population growth as well. There was a bear struck by a vehicle on interstae I-64 a couple of weeks ago just 2 miles from the Ohio River which quickly bounced back on its feet and disappeared into the woods. A police report was done and they found prints going into the woods which was validated by Indiana DNR officers as well.
Naturalists believe they are swimming the Ohio from Kentucky or simply walking across bridges late at night. The Hoosier National Forest runs north from the banks of the Ohio through Central Indiana in large sporadic patches of dense oak and pine and wild berry brush that would support them.
Regardless the numerous consecutive sightings show they are bouncing back from possible extinction just less than a hundred years ago.
Article needs to be corrected, he was a ginseng poached and the chinese are buying up all they can for $1000 a pound or more and it's being poached to the point of extinction.
It's not really all that close to extinctiion, although some states consider local wild populations to be endangered. Poaching of course isn't not great, but this is likely a plant that could be reintroduced pretty easily with seeds. I understand that the requirement for legal digging in many states is to spread any seeds.
The sale is kind of odd. The price that's being paid for wild American ginseng may be high at retail, but what collectors can get is actually pretty low compared to the retail price. The vast majority of what's available is farmed. There is a huge premium for wild, but for the most part it seems to be a matter of superstition as to the appearance. They especially value pieces that have shapes that look similar to a body with legs and arms. There's really no rationale that such an appearance has any better pharmacological properties than any other shape.
And I can guarantee you, that man died of other causes. That bear didn’t just attack him out of nowhere. Pretty sure he was already dead when the bear found him and decided to try it. Bears shouldn’t be killed for being bears when humans are rarely killed for being monsters. That bear should have been left alone and for the rangers to have killed him... they need to be replaced. They failed at their jobs.
The wildlife agency made a judgement call based on information it had at the time and I support their decision. Regardless of what someone was doing, illegal or not, loss of his life is a tragedy. Lossing one bear to prudent judgement is not. Black bears have been known to attack humans without provocation and eat them. Many people have different opinions about wildlife management, but In Tennessee hundreds of black bears are hunted and killed each year to help manage the estimated 7,000 black bears from becoming over populated. Hatitat can only support so many animals and when animals cannot find food they will move to others areas to find it. Black bear populations have been steadily increasing in Tennessee since the 1970’s. We’ve had black bears in downtown Knoxville and black bears are continuing to expand their territory all over the U.S. Thanks to wildlife management efforts and hunters fees which support wildlife management we all benefit from being able to enjoy and see more wildlife with the best parks in the world.
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