DNA Evidence Shows Officials Euthanized Wrong Bear After Attack
GATLINBURG , Tenn., June 23 (UPI) — Officials at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee say DNA evidence proves they euthanized the wrong bear after a teen was attacked three weeks ago.
The admission follows a June 6 bear attack against a 16-year-old male in the area around campsite 84.
On June 7, wildlife biologists shot at a bear near the campsite but were not sure if they had struck it, and on the following day they euthanized a bear caught in a trap near campsite 84.
After biologists collected DNA samples from the euthanized bear and the scene of the June 6 attack, a lab in Pennsylvania determined the samples came from different bears.
DNA from hair on a rifle bullet found after the June 7 shooting was not sufficient to determine if that bear was the same as from the attack, though biologists noted a match of 65 percent. Officials have not recovered any bodies following that incident.
The analysis reportedly marks the first time Great Smoky Mountains National Park has had access to a lab willing and able to analyze bear DNA samples in a timely manner for use in an attack case.
“Due to the extreme seriousness of the bear attack and threat to human safety, we responded swiftly to secure the safety of hikers in the backcountry,” WLTV quoted Superintendent Cassius Cash as saying. “Though extremely rare and regrettable, we recognize that an uninvolved bear was euthanized through this process and we will be examining new procedures that may allow us to quickly use DNA analysis to correctly identify bears responsible for predatory attacks in the future.”
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