Woody Woodpecker at Alpenglow Chalet !
Knock, knock.
Who’s there?
Orange.
Orange who?
Orange you going to answer the door?
We had a Thanksgiving visitor 🦃🤔🐻
Just remember to lock your doors because… 🎶 Yogi Bear is smarter than the average bear, Yogi Bear is always in the…. finish the lyrics!
(Captured live today in Chalet Village)
We got a visitor, bright and early! 🐻
Turkey visits Alpenglow Chalet in Gatlinburg TN
We had a visitor stop by… about a week too early… sounds like it is saying ”open up” 🦃
Knock, knock!
Who’s there?
Odette.
Odette who?
Odette’s a big turkey!
Misty? 🐻 Is that you my sweet sow? She walks so funny with her paws bowed inward slightly. Can a bear be “pigeon-toed”? 🤔
Curious Miss Misty is back! 🐻 Watch till the end! She was also seen in our May 26th post.
Saw a mama bear 🐻 and her cubs this evening while driving back to the chalet!
We had a night crawler last last night 🐻
Well Hi there young bear! Do you think s/he was in any of our previous videos? I think s/he needs a name... ideas? 🐻
Oh Huffington, what are you running away from? Quite the wall climber, you make it look so easy! Huffington was in the video with Mr. Tag we posted earlier on May 8th -> scroll down to check it out!
Oh no Mr. Tag is back! Check out what he does at 0:43 seconds into the video!
Remember a FED BEAR 🐻 is a DEAD BEAR
More bear activity! Why does the second one have a tag in its ear you may ask? Here is some info (WARNING MAY BE TRIGGERING):
It is likely this bear has lost its fear of people and become food-conditioned, meaning it has had human food before, and was no longer afraid of getting close to vehicles or humans in the search for food.
The way the GSMNP manages bears depends on where the animals are on the scale from wild ➡️ habituated ➡️ food conditioned (approaching people for their food).
“The black bear is the symbol of the Smokies,” says wildlife biologist Bill Stiver.
In areas where human dwellings overlap bear habitat, the bears get to see and observe people quite frequently. Sometimes even daily.
As a result, seeing humans does not startle them. Rather, they largely ignore the people around them and just continue what whatever they are doing. Such bears are referred to as “habituated.”
Usually, they’ve had a peaceful relationship with the humans around them so they have no reason to fear or attack them.
When the bear moves up the scale from habituated ➡️ food conditioned it may become a “nuisance”.
Each of the following techniques is an attempt to create a negative (or scary) experience for a food-conditioned bear that outweighs the possible positive experience (such as a food reward) that the bear gets from raiding trash cans or going after scraps.
1) To discourage a curious, night active bear (often a young bear looking for new territory), they might only need to scare it away to show the bear that it should be afraid of people.
2) If the bear persists, managers “catch and release” it, and hope it learns from the negative experience not to go anywhere near humans again. “For a bear, [catch and release] is a negative experience that it remembers,” Bill Stiver said, although bothering the bear isn’t the goal. Managers “work up” the animals that they catch in bear traps, which includes taking vital signs (weight
PSA!: 🐻 Bears know how to open car doors! 🚘 This one (we named him Patchy) tried to get in yesterday afternoon but thankfully my guests locked their doors! #outofhibernation #hangry
Looks like we had a visitor last Saturday morning! Mr. Patchy 🐻 #chaletovergatlinburg
It is with great sadness that LD and I tell you that we have sold our beloved Cloudy Dreams. Fortunately the new owner is also going to rent by owner and plans to continue providing the same great level of personalized service that we have always done.
I just want to thank you for being such wonderful guests! In 15 years of renting everyone has treated our place like their own. I have truly enjoyed the many years of helping you plan your vacations and keeping Cloudy Dreams maintained for you knowing you love the chalet as much as we do. We have enjoyed getting to know you over the years and wish you peace, love and many blessings!
I look forward to watching Cloudy Dreams provide respite and great vacations to all of you for many years to come!