National Parks Traveler on recent pit bull incident in the Smokies
Monday, September 21st, 2009The unleashed 100 lb. dog attacked a mature 130 lb. buck, and the deer was so badly wounded that it had to be euthanized.
A news report is here, but the online National Parks Traveler goes into more depth, discussing past incidents:
An excerpt:
A … spokesman at the park said such incidents are fairly rare in the Smokies, and described another situation several years ago that illustrates the value in the “leash law” for protecting pets as well as wildlife. In that case the dog was riding in the bed of a pickup truck which was being driven through the Cades Cove area.
The dog spotted a black bear, jumped out of the truck, and headed for the bear, which was large enough that it wasn’t intimidated by the dog. A chase ensured, and the dog became the prey, running back toward the owner, who had stopped his truck alongside the road. In this case, the pursuing bear reportedly broke off the chase when the dog ran into a group of people who had gathered to watch the action. That case fortunately ended without further incident for both the dog and the bear, but this one could have taken a nasty turn.
