Black bear crashes vacation, takes a dip in Tennessee hot tub

The Brief

• A black bear was caught on video taking a dip in a hot tub at a Pigeon Forge, Tennessee rental while guests watched in surprise.

• The bear appeared relaxed, playful, and unbothered by humans, splashing around before calmly leaving the deck.

• This is one of several recent sightings of bears enjoying backyard spas, including a similar case in California last year.

PIGEON FORGE, Tenn. - A black bear was caught taking a dip and splashing about in a hot tub in Tennessee earlier this month.

Felicia Shillingburg said she was in the hot tub of a rental in Pigeon Forge with her mother and a friend when a bear came around the corner and onto the wooden deck.

Video shows bear swimming in vacation rental hot tub

What they're saying

Video taken by Shillingburg shows the bear relaxing in the hot tub and swimming around. Shillingburg can be heard saying, "He was hot. He said, ‘Where’s the party? Where’s the party at?’"

The renters shared the footage to Facebook and said th bear did not seem aggressive and seemed to be "very comfortable with humans."

Speaking to video licensing company Storyful, Shillingburg said the bear left soon after it got out of the tub.

"He just took a dip and left," Shillingburg said.

Bears found swimming in hot tubs and pools

Dig deeper

But this isn’t the first time a bear has been found having a spa day in someone’s yard.

Last year, a video showed a bear taking a dip in a California pool. Joie Rushing recorded the event, showing the bear wandering around her deck in Forest Falls. The bear then pushes off the hot tub cover before dunking itself in the water.

RELATED: Watch: Bear caught enjoying 'spa day' in California backyard pool

According to the National Park Service, black bears are wild animals that can act aggressively when threatened; yet this is rare and there are a very low number of fatal bear attacks yearly.

The Source

The information in this story was obtained from Storyful. The Associated Press, previous FOX Local reporting also contributed to this report. This story was reported from Los Angeles.