People keep trying to feed and hold a bear on North Carolina's Blue Ridge Parkway and it's gotten so bad that the National Parks Service had to close parts of the road

• The National Park Service shut down an 8-mile section of the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.
• The road was shut down after reports of people trying to hold and feed a young bear.

The National Park Service had to shut down an eight-mile section of North Carolina's Blue Ridge Parkway after multiple reports of people trying to hold and feed a young bear.

"We are closing this section of the road temporarily for the safety of both the bear and park visitors," Superintendent Tracy Swartout said in a news release from the NPS. "When people intentionally attract bears with trash and food it can lead to very dangerous situations. In this instance we want to give the bear a chance to lose interest in the area before the situation escalates and visitors or the bear are harmed."

The news release said there have been "multiple documented reports of visitors feeding and attempting to hold a young bear in recent weeks" at the parkway's Lane Pinnacle Overlook.

The release said that fall is a crucial time for bears because they're preparing for hibernation.

"Between September and November bears may forage for food up to 20 hours a day as they attempt to put on weight for the winter and hibernation," it said. "During this time bears actively seek out natural foods but will also take advantage of human foods when presented with the opportunity."

The eight-mile stretch of the parkway was shut down starting on Monday and will be closed until further notice, the NPS said.

Newsweek reported that the young bear mentioned in the NPS' release was likely a black bear, adding that North Carolina does not have any grizzly bears and is home to approximately 15,000 black bears.

Insider has reached out to NPS for comment.