Picture-snapping Smokies hiker suffers minor injury after being bitten by black bear

Minor injury for photo-taking hiker bitten by bear

GATLINBURG, Tenn. — A man was bitten as he was trying to take a picture of a black bear in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park, but the injury was minor and did not require medical attention.

The National Park Service said in a release the unidentified man suffered a small puncture wound on his foot after he was bitten on the Laurel Falls Trail to the south of Gatlinburg, Tenn., on Wednesday.

Wildlife biologists captured a 60-pound female bear that visitors reported seeing near the trail. As a matter of park policy, bears that have contact or injure people are euthanized.

The park service said it is likely the bear had been eating food left behind by visitors.