Monti checks out the furs on display at the park while wearing her
leopard coat. She said she was embarrassed because she always wears
that coat when she goes to the zoo. At the park I read about highly
profitable market of black bear poaching. I was surprised to find out
that black bears are killed for their gall bladders and their paws. In
Asia they make soup from the paws and the gall bladders are used for
medicinal purposes. A bowl of bear paw soup can sell for around $1000.
One black bear gall bladder can fetch up to $10,000 in east Asia. This
is 20 times the street price of cocaine per ounce. It makes me wonder
about that black bear that was recently killed in the Smokey Mountains
after it attacked a small boy. Did they sell any of those bear parts
to help the National Park Service?