Wildlife Officers Investigating Tourist Feeding Bear in Gatlinburg

A woman who posted a video online of herself feeding a bear while on vacation in Gatlinburg could face charges.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency confirmed that officers are investigating and have identified the woman seen hand feeding a bear in a viral video posted to the popular social media platform TikTok on Wednesday, September 30, 2020. The video had more than 350,000 views as of Friday, just 2 days later.

The woman in the video is allegedly named Kristin Ferris. Her TicTok profile states she is from North Carolina. The agency says the incident took place on September 7, 2020 and that the woman lives outside Tennessee, but declined to confirm her identity.

Outrage over the video spilled over onto local Sevier County facebook groups, where users called for the woman to be arrested. Feeding bears habituates them to seek food from people, a situation that could lead to dangerous bear encounters for local citizens and future tourists visiting the rental cabin. It could also lead to authorities euthanizing the bear.

A similar incident occurred in 2016. In that case an Indiana couple pleaded guilty to feeding bears at a Gatlinburg cabin. They were assessed fines of $200 each with adjoining court costs of $270 each.

TWRA has not yet charged the woman in the TikTok video.