When you see news reports about small local hotels, it’s typically something mundane, like a fire, robbery, drug bust, etc.
A bear that got itself locked in a hotel bathroom? Not so much.
But that’s exactly what happened at a Quality Inn & Suites in Downtown Gatlinburg late last week.
On Friday night, around 2:33am hotel staff made an unusual call to 911- they had reason to believe that a bear had gotten itself trapped in one of the hotel’s bathrooms. Officer Quayvaughn McCollum wrote that an employee “observed a bear enter an exterior bathroom and lock itself inside.”
Hotel footage showed police officers carefully opening the bathroom door and running to the left, just before the bear casually strolled out of the restroom and headed to the right down the sidewalk. One officer could be heard clacking sticks together while both cops yelled at the bear to help scare it away.
The police report did note that officers observed “a broken mirror shattered on the floor, which the bear had caused.” Damage was estimated at $50.
But otherwise, all’s well that ends well – the bear didn’t appear interested in the people and left the premises safely, while no one was injured during the ordeal.
When we’ve stayed at cabins in the Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg area, we’ve seen bears on more than one occasion. In fact, the Great Smoky Mountains region is home to about 2,000 black bears, and the town sits right next to their habitat. So seeing bears in the area isn’t particularly unusual.
Having one stuck in a bathroom? That’s another story. And it’s probably a first for the overnight staff at this Quality Inn.
At least the bear apparently caused less damage than some human hotel guests do. 😏
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1 comment
They are so cute. Too bad they would rip your head off.