After a bear attack in the Great Smoky Mountains backcountry, biologists euthanized a bear. A DNA test now shows the bear killed is not the one that attacked the hiker.

The attack happened May 10 at Spence Field. “This was not just a casual nip. This was an aggressive bite in the middle of the night of a hiker in a tent who had properly stored his food,” park spokeswoman Dana Soehn said.

The bear was trapped and killed May 13. “These are very difficult decisions that have to be made. And we err of course on the side of visitor safety,” Soehn said.

The park says ideally it will wait until DNA tests come back before deciding to euthanize a bear. While they wait, they can either keep the bear captive at the zoo, or put a GPS collar on the animal, let it go, and track it down later. This time the team says the site was too far away and the bear was too big.

“Our wildlife biologists tried to secure the collar for an hour. We simply could not secure that collar around this 400-pound bear’s very large neck, because of its small head in relationship to its neck. It was like trying to put a collar on the shape of a cone,” the spokeswoman said.

The park did manage to put the GPS collar on another bear and release it. The DNA test shows that bear also did not attack the camper.

The bear that actually attacked the hiker is still out there. “We’ll continue monitoring activity at that site. And that site also remains closed to the public,” Soehn said.

The park says it continues trying to balance protecting bears and protecting people. In the Great Smoky Mountains, millions cross paths with wildlife every year. The park service says on average it euthanizes around three bears a year in the Smokies.WHAT OTHERS ARE CLICKING ON RIGHT NOW: