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Bear sightings causes campground to shut down

Updated: Mon 12:11 AM, Jul 30, 2012

The sign heading into the Holly Bay Campground reads "Road Closed," all because of one family that moved into the area..

"Everybody is talking about it," said Kim Begley, who was camping with her family, and says she's never had this happen in the 25 years they've been camping there.

Begley says this family was big and she even spotted one of the babies digging in the trash.

"It was just standing there playing, so we came back and told the campground host."

Begley says she got a photo of it, too."We saw the bear!" she exclaimed, "Mama couldn't have been far, I don't think."

In a release, the Kentucky Fish and Wildlife Resources explains that the drought has reduced the black bear's food supply forcing them to look elsewhere, like the Holly Bay Campground.

"I don't like anything that may be bigger than me that can attack me, I guess," chuckled Begley, which is why she was okay with her family's camping vacation being cut short. The only bad news is they had to leave everything behind.

"All of our food, juice, and you know just everything like that is still back in the campground," she went on to say, "As of right now, we can't go in and we have to work tomorrow, so we're going to leave our camper one more night and come back after work, tomorrow, and try and get it."

Fortunately the Begleys live fairly close to the campsite, in East Bernstadt, but she says other campers were not so lucky.

"I mostly felt sorry for the people that don't leave here. You know maybe they didn't have it budgeted in their weekend plans to have to go get a motel or have to leave so soon."

Begley says she was told the park rangers and others have located the family of three, but until the bears can be safely moved no one is going in.

While the Holly Bay Campground is closed, campers were still able to set up at the nearby Grove Campground. Still, campers are under a mandatory food storage order to prevent possible interactions with bears.


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