Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency Officer, Shelley Hammonds

Exclusive Interview With Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency Officer, Shelley Hammonds

Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency Officer Shelley Hammonds, 37, mother of two, gave an exclusive interview to the Knoxville Journal this week concerning the story of the black bear with the jug caught around his head. Hammonds says she has been honored with all the attention the story has brought to her. The story went national and then worldwide. A company in Taiwan has produced an animated video about the incident.

Hammonds says she first became aware that a black bear had been sighted in Cocke County near the Water Department in Newport along the Irish Cut area some time in late June. Approximately a month later, on June 28 she got a text message from an employee at the Water Department that said the bear had been spotted and it had a jug stuck on its head. The employee had made a photo of the bear, and Hammonds thought it looked like the bear might have a trap caught on its head. For the next few days, she got more text messages and calls about the bear who was wandering around in the area.

By July 4th the bear was sighted at the Water Department again. Hammonds knew she was going to need a dart gun and she began searching for one, but it took her the better part of a day to find an officer in Sevier County who had the gun and the supplies she needed. When she contacted him, he agreed to meet her and give her the training she needed. She drove over to the Water Department and saw the bear. All she could do was observe it while she waited for the dart gun. However, before the officer arrived, the bear was spooked by loud noises and ran away deep into the woods. Hammonds said she was very frustrated at this point as she felt she was so close to being able to help the bear only to lost contact with him. The Sevier County officer did leave the dart gun with her so she would be ready the next time the bear was spotted.

On July 6th the got another call about the bear, but she was approximately 20 minutes away from the spot where he was sighted. By the time she arrived at the place where others were watching the bear, she had to spend too much time unlocking the drug box, getting the dart gun out of her truck, loading the drugs into it, preparing the gun to be fired and firing the weapon. She was able to get one shot off, but missed the bear due to her inability to use the gun appropriately. She said the bear was so close to her it actually touched the door of her truck. All in all on this day, all she felt was total frustration as she came so close to saving the bear. She felt like the bear only had days, maybe even hours to live and she had failed him.

By July 8th and 9th more calls and text messages came in, but she could not find the bear. On Monday, July 11th, while she was out driving, she got a call that the bear had been spotted about 5 miles away from her. She hurried to the spot, and began tracking the bear. More calls came in and others were also helping her. She searched and tracked the bear for over 6 hours thinking it may be the last day for the bear. She did see him a few times, but he would run when people came near. She truly felt like July 11th would be the last day of the bear’s life. She could tell he was very thin and she knew he had been without nourishment and possible without water for over two weeks. July 11th ended with total frustration for her. She began to believe she would hear that someone had found the bear dead in the woods after that point.

However, on July 16th, calls came in that the bear had been spotted at the Carson Spring area. She was amazed at this news as this spot is 8 to 15 miles from the last place where the bear had been seen. She drove to the spot and searched again to no avail.

On July 17th news came that the bear had been seen crossing between 434 and 435 on the interstate highway headed towards Newport. Once again she was amazed at how far the bear had walked. She drove to the area and was receiving texts and phone messages that people were tracking the bear and following him at a distance. The bear had been seen in a church parking lot. Next, she heard that the bear was seen near Lacarreta Restaurant and several people were following him, hoping to help capture him. As she drove up to the restaurant, people began waving her forward, pointing to where the bear was walking. She felt herself growing tense as she just knew the bear didn’t have much longer to live. As she was searching and driving, suddenly the bear ran out in front of her vehicle. She stopped in the middle of the road, flung out the dart gun and took a shot. This time she was closer to the bear and had a better shot and him and she hit him. The bear kept walking and probably traveled 75 yards. People began gathering around as word spread that the bear was in town. The bear walked through a couple of parking lots as people walked along watching him. Finally, the bear collapsed in the parking lot of the C & C Pawn Shop.

With the help of others, Hammonds was able to locate a water hose and began to spray the bear to keep his temperature down while he was under the influence of the drugs. She could see the bear was very thin and weak. She knew he was dehydrated and, due to her training as a nurse, she was able to secure an IV line into the bear. Jonathan Layman helped by shaving the bear in order for her to get to his veins. Waylan Dalton and his wife also helped by following the bear and sending her reports about his locations. John Hammonds, Shelley’s husband, was also present helping with the capture and rescue. They spent about two hours working on the bear while he was asleep. They loaded him into a cage and put him in the back of a truck.

Hammonds said when the bear woke up he was very angry. He began snapping his jaws and hitting the sides of the cage. She said everyone began laughing, they were so happy to see him with such a lively personality after all he had been through. They gave the bear plenty of water which he readily drank. They fed him dog food which he enjoyed and tolerated very well. After monitoring him for several hours to make sure he had no effects from the drugs, they hauled him several miles into the mountains and let him loose. But, before they let him go, they put a 100 pound bag of dog food in the woods for him to find.

Hammonds says that the bear lived through this ordeal was a miracle. She noticed that the bear’s ears were very dirty. She guessed that the bear had laid him head down in the mud or in the stream so that water would flow into the jug around his head.

Hammonds says the kind of jug stuck on the bear’s head was the type that usually contain cheese puffs. She hopes people will take a lesson from this incident and stop leaving these kinds of containers in the mountains. Hammonds kept the container so she can use it to teach people that garbage kills bears.