Thrill-seeker at Tennessee theme park narrowly avoids family of bears on mountain coaster, video shows
'Everybody’s laughing but that is a mama bear with cubs …That person is lucky to be alive'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Well, he was seeking a thrill, wasn’t he?
Visitors at an outdoor theme park in Tennessee were treated to a shocking (yet majestic) scene over the weekend when a family of bears lumbered across the tracks of a mountain coaster just as a rider was approaching from up the hill.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The incident, which took place at the Anakeesta park in Gatlinburg, was captured on film and later shared to TikTok by a user named @RickTock69, where the videos have since been viewed over 10 million times.
In the footage, a rider on the Rail Runner mountain coaster — the speed of which can be controlled by the rider himself — is seen inching down the tracks, apparently aware that a bear and two cubs are approaching from the right. Onlookers can be heard gasping as the scene unfolds, with one remarking, “I would be freaking out.”
Luckily, the bears leisurely cross the tracks before coming into contact with the rider of the cart.
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Commenters on TikTok, meanwhile, were “freaking out” just watching the clips.
“Who else would have died?” one asked.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“Everybody’s laughing but that is a mama bear with cubs,” wrote another commenter. “That person is lucky to be alive.”
“Bear looking at that guy like sushi coming around the conveyor belt,” someone else joked.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The Anakeesta theme park, named for the Anakeesta Formation rock layer that makes up some of the geological formations of the Smoky Mountains, is no stranger to bears. In a statement obtained by Fox News, a representative for Anakeesta said that this particular season has been "particularly active" for the local bear population.
"The video that appeared on TikTok of Anakeesta Rail Runner mountain coaster illustrates the outdoor nature of our 72 acre family theme park," MIchele Canney, Anakeesta's marketing director, tells Fox News. "Our property is literally a stone’s throw away from the boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park… It is not uncommon to see a family of bears in our park, or in Gatlinburg, the gateway city to the national park."
That said, Anakeesta has strict safety protocols in place to prevent guests from coming into contact with the animals, as well as designated staff to monitor for wildlife.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The mama bear seen in the video, Canney added, is named "Ana," and she's been "on our property since the park opened three years ago" on Sept. 1, 2017.
Canney confirmed there were no injuries to either the visitors or bears as a result of the incident.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Anakeesta reopened to the public in May with new health and safety protocols after temporarily closing in March amid the coronavirus pandemic.