People planning a visit to bear country in the Appalachian Mountains could buy
worldwide travel insurance before they head off.
The Gainesville Times reports that a six-mile stretch of the Appalachian Trail, which winds 2,175 miles through Georgia in the United States, was closed recently due to dangers posed by a local bear.
Over 1,000 people hike the trail every March and April and although campers are warned to hang food in the air in a suspended bag, a bear has apparently learned to chew through the rope to steal campers' supplies.
Scott Frazier, a wildlife biologist working with the department of natural resources' wildlife resources division in Gainesville, told the paper: "What we're hoping is that if we close that area to camping for a certain period of time, the bear doesn't get any food reward and the habit dies."
He added that bears tend to move on if they haven't had a meal after a few days, in which case the trail will be reopened to overnight campers, many of whom may have bought
cheap travel insurance.
Attacks on humans are rare, according to bear.org.
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