TN - Young black bear scales 10-foot fence, visits Knoxville Zoo after hours

The Knoxville Zoo had an unexpected break-in Monday night — from a wandering black bear.

While zoos are always alert to keep their exotic animals safely inside their habitats, they rarely experience a wild animal the size of a bear wanting to get inside their boundaries.

It was about midnight when a zoo ranger spotted a young black bear scaling the 10-foot-high chain-link and barbed wire of the zoo’s perimeter fence.
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Zookeepers quickly counted bear noses and discovered that none of their bears were out and about for an evening stroll.
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Once the bear got into the zoo he or she made few stops. When zoo officials determined there was no roaming bear on the grounds, they opened the zoo.

Zoo spokeswoman Tina Rolen said staffers speculate the animal likely scaled a fence out of the park unseen.
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Zoo Executive Director Lisa New quipped, “Of course, our Black Bear Falls is one of the top habitats in the country so maybe word has gotten out in the black bear community.”
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Nova said:

Um, if a bear can climb in, what's keeping bears from climbing out?

And what's up with bears lately? My daughter had one in her suburban-Boston backyard on Sunday and another friend (NC) had to stop on a city street because bear cubs were playing in the road!

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Paintr said:

He was looking for 'the bear necessities'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ogQ0uge06o

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mysteriew said:

The food is better in the zoo

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BOESP said:

Most bear dens in captivity are topped with wire or other structure to keep them from getting out of the zoo.

The bears are coming into towns more and more every year looking for easy food. Garbage cans are the bear version of a smorgasbord. Also, their habitats are being destroyed for urbanization and because sometimes food is short due to lack of rain, a freezing cold that destroyed berries before they could ripen, etc.

They love to raid garbage cans and pet food containers in towns in and near the mountains. When I lived in the Smokies the black bears seemed to be particularly fond of Oreos. No kidding!

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BOESP said:

Just as a side note ... the Body Farm is not that far from the zoo.

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