Wild bear steals the show at Christmas parade, but officials reveal the disturbing reason it can’t be allowed to live

A black bear showed up at a Christmas parade in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, and walked right down the parade route while people watched in shock. The bear appeared completely calm as it strolled along the empty street that was decorated with holiday lights.

According to the NY Post, the animal made its surprise appearance at the town’s 50th annual Christmas parade on Friday. Videos shared on social media show crowds of people pulling out their phones to record the unexpected guest as it walked down the cleared road.

People standing on the sides of the street yelled as the bear calmly walked off into a nearby parking lot. One excited person posted on Facebook, “Waiting on the Christmas parade and a bear came out!” However, not everyone thought the bear’s appearance was cute or funny.

Wildlife officials say the bear’s behavior is a serious problem

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said the bear has likely become too comfortable around humans and might need to be put down if it sees people as a source of food. While crowds have gathered for unusual animal spectacles before, wildlife experts warn that this situation is dangerous.

“That bear is, at some point, going to come in physical contact with a human and probably have to be epithelized for its actions, so help us keep bears wild, keep them alive, and hopefully we can enjoy seeing them in and around people with out them exhibiting any human habituation which is what you’re seeing here,” Matt Cameron, a representative of the agency explained.

Cameron stressed that bears normally run away from humans instead of approaching them. The fact that this bear walked through a crowd shows it has lost its natural fear of people.

The same black bear was later seen digging through trash cans in the area. This behavior shows exactly why the animal has become so comfortable around humans. The incident joins other strange creatures going viral online recently.

The city has bought bear-proof garbage cans and dumpsters to help solve the problem. Officials are asking residents to use them correctly to keep bears away from town. Gatlinburg sits next to Great Smoky Mountains National Park, which is home to about 1,500 bears.