Appalachian Bear Rescue

01/09/2026

ABR Update January 9, 2026

We are pleased to announce the addition of Sarah Ledbetter to our organization!

Sarah has been hired into a new full-time position at ABR as our Visitor Center and Event Manager. She has local roots right here in Townsend and has worked in retail in the area for over 10 years. She loves rooftop tent camping, driving her racecar on the dragon, and raising her dogs, turkeys, chickens, ducks, and peacock at her little homestead. She's super excited to work here and meet all of you at future events.

With her wealth of retail skills and experience combined with her knowledge of the local community we expect her to bring our Visitor Center and Store experience to the next level!

In celebration of Sarah's first week here we have decided to extend a special package deal from our store. Starting now, with the purchase of any ABR 2026 30th Anniversary Calendar you will receive 1 FREE 2025 Cubs Forever Christmas Ornament (Valued at $20)! It's available both online and in the store and you can purchase it right now by following this link https://appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/products/buy-2026-calendar-get-free-ornament?utm_source=copyToPasteBoard&utm_medium=product-links&utm_content=web

Please give Sarah a Big Bear Hug welcome to the team and come by the visitor center Monday, Thursday, Friday, or Saturday to buy some ABR Swag and say hi to Sarah!
(Tracey and JoAnne are still there too, don't worry! And you can give them a big bear hug too!)

01/08/2026

ABR Daily Update January 8, 2026

Thanks to your generous support our curators have been hard at work adding some of the finishing touches to the new wild enclosures, and finally embarking the the beginnings of the long anticipated soil study with the help and input of TWRA (More on that in the coming days). Please enjoy this article from our good friend, Melanie Tucker, at the Daily Times who has always made sure that ABR stays in the spotlight! We are so blessed to have such a supportive network in our local community.

In other news, Curator Tom and Greg have finished arguing about how to design and install the electric fencing, and Greg may actually get his way. Tom still has his doubts, but is willing to let Greg try a different design than what has been used in the past.
Greg is pricing materials from Premier 1 Supplies to use a new extremely strong and highly durable electrified braided rope product that can be mounted on insulators that are directly attached to the chain-link fencing. Though the electrified rope is more expensive than standard galvanized hi-tensile electric wire, it would not require the installation several hundred T-posts to be able to hold the tension. If all goes well, the electrified rope should save money, time, and the Curator Greg's back!

Fingers crossed, it will pass the Tom Test.

Despite not housing a single bear in 2025, Appalachian Bear Rescue in Townsend remains a priority for many supporters whose contributions totaled $1.1 million over 12 months.

01/05/2026

January 5, 2026 - Completing Small Projects Here and There

Weather: 60F (16C), Sunny☀️

Curators are taking full advantage of the warm winter days here in Townsend by working on some of the smaller projects around the bear facility. This includes routine maintenance work, repairing the wraps around forbidden trees in the existing Wild Enclosures, and anything else that Curator Tom can think of!

One of these minor projects was to build a retaining wall on either side of the culvert that goes from Wild Enclosure 6 out to the "outside", unfenced, world. Decades ago, there was a creek running through the middle of new Wild Enclosures 5 & 6. Now there is just a dry indentation not even worthy of being called a creek bed. Curators have never seen water flow through this creek bed (not even Tom) even on the heaviest downpours or wettest of winters. With some of the dirt work that has been done to build the new fencing and add the giant drainage system, we wanted to make sure rainwater from Wild Enclosure 5 & 6 did not pool up at the natural funnel point at the bottom of Wild Enclosure 6. This meant putting in a culvert under the space between Wild Enclosure 6 and the perimeter fencing (have no fear, the culvert has been made cub proof by our good friend Wes the welder so no cubs can get out and also that no bears can get in!). With the culvert being put in, we wanted to make sure that the entrance would remain clear over time and would not fill up with dirt. So, in a small retaining wall went. It is unlikely that much water will actually flow through this culvert, except for perhaps in a torrential rainfall event, but it is always better to be overprepared than underprepared when it comes to bear cubs.☔️🐻

On Friday of last week, Curators Greg and Katrina hauled landscaping timbers down to WE6. They proceeded to dig a trench big enough to fit the timbers in. Next they drilled holes in the timber and stacked them onto rebar that was pounded into the ground for stability. Once the wall was a few feet high, dirt was pushed up against it for stability as well as to cover the other drainage pipes from the basin drain system. Curator Tom got in on the action today as he and Greg finished the other side of the wall. Lucky for Greg, Curator Tom found an extra long drill bit so the holes on the stacked timbers lined up and there didn't have to be as much drilling or forcing together of the 2nd side😆Every day the new enclosures get a little more '"cub ready"!

01/03/2026

January 3, 2026 - Only the Best for ABR Bear Cubs🩺🐻

The very first thing that happens when a wild cub is caught to be put in ABR's care is that the cub goes to the vet to receive a comprehensive exam. Sometimes when cubs are caught, an injury or health concern is very obvious. Other times, the close examination by the amazing staff at the University of Tennesse College of Veterinary Medicine (UTCVM) catches ailments in our cubs that might have otherwise gone unnoticed. Because of the in-depth knowledge and above and beyond level of care given at the UT Vet, cubs are set up for a sucessful rehabilitation journey at ABR no matter how big or small of a health issue they may have. We do everything possible to make sure ABR cubs always get the best, and the care they get at UTCVM is world class!

One of these amazing vets at UTCVM is Dr. Julie Sheldon. Dr. Sheldon has been one of ABR's vets for almost a decade now. She has seen everything from broken bones to head injuries to extreme emaciation (and even bear blood transfusions... Summitt Bear). The cubs in ABR's care certainly keep her on her toes! While cubs can't talk, we can speak on their behalf and tell you that each and every one of them recieve the best possible care under her and her staff. Dr. Sheldon regularly checks in with staff to follow up on the cubs throughout their stay at ABR and is always willing to take time to answer any questions curators may have about the cubs' health! From intake to release, ABR cubs get the absolute best care with Dr. Sheldon and the whole team at UTCVM.

Also, as of this fall Dr. Julie Sheldon joined Appalachian Bear Rescue as a board member! We are so excited to welcome her to our team in an "official" capacity. Thanks for all you do for our bears, Dr. Sheldon!

01/02/2026

Join Executive Director Greg for a discussion about how much money we have been able to raise since launching the Cubs Forever Campaign on July 21, 2025 and how it has spent and what the next couple of months will look like for ABR.

01/02/2026

WE DID IT!!⭐️🎉🐻❤

Please join Interim Executive Director Greg at 12:30 EST today on Facebook LIVE for an in-depth update on our Cubs Forever Campaign (spoiler alert, we reached our goal🥳). Greg will also be talking about some updates on what is to come in these first few months of 2026 here at Appalachian Bear Rescue.

When we launched our Cubs Forever Campaign on July 21, 2025 we knew our proposed goal of $685,000 was a HUGE ask of you all. We were hoping to be just over halfway of our goal by January 1st of 2026, but as always, you all blew us out of the water. The outpouring of support these last 6 months has continued to humble us. As we tallied up all of the donations over the past few weeks, we realized that we not only reached our lofty goal, but we blew it out of the water. This past year has had its fair share of challenges and hurdles, but we've made it through because of YOU❤. Our ABR team has felt the full weight of your support this year from encouraging emails, phone calls and hand written letters to donations and store purchases to every like and share on our social media. None of this would be possible without you all, our incredible supporters. Because of YOU, we are getting closer everyday to getting back to our work of helping injured and orphaned bear cubs. Not only have you all help keep the facility up and running with major improvements and updates, you have fueled the hope of ABR Staff, reminding us to always stay true to our mission and reminding us of why all of our hard work matters! While thank you simply does not feel like enough during a time like this, we hope you feel the gratitude that is overflowing from all of us here at ABR. Now more than ever, we are in this together. THANK YOU for helping us give future bear cubs a second chance 💛🐻

See you at 12:30!!

12/31/2025

December 31, 2025 - ABR Visitor Center Hours Update

Weather: 45F (7C), Sunny ☀️

A quick update on ABR's Visitor Center and Store hours as we move into the new year. We will be going back to having the visitor center open 4 days a week for the next few months as the season slows down here in east TN. Starting next week, we will be open Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 10am-4pm. We will be closed Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays. We will also be CLOSED tomorrow on New Year's Day. We will be open as usual this Friday and Saturday (Jan 2nd & 3rd).

We wish everyone a wonderful and safe New Years Eve tonight!

12/30/2025

ABR Daily Update December 29, 2025

Enclosure Work Never Ends

Weather: 28F (-2C), Sunny but chilly

Today we brave the cold winter air to plan the next step in the finalization of Wild Enclosures 5 and 6. Each time we venture down, we thankfully can cross off an item on our to-do list.

Next on the current to-do list, is installing the electric fencing. The electric fencing will be installed on the lower portion of the fence, with the lowest strand being 6-8” off the ground, then more evenly spaced strands up to 40” in height. There will also be electric fencing on the overhanging portions of the fence. The electric fencing is to discourage the cubs from climbing the fencing.

Another item on the to-do list is finishing burying the underground pipes we laid from the drainage system, without filling the gated culvert with dirt. We are going to try to build a small retaining wall to accomplish this. Fingers crossed this solution will work well on the first try.

And the final item, is planning where we want to plant new white oaks in the new enclosure spaces. We have to pick spots that will get plenty of sunlight and provide space to grow without too much competition. On top of finding the best spots, we must make sure we plant them in places where they won’t be too close to the fence line where they would have to be wrapped with plastic and off limits to the cubs. White oaks will not only provide future climbing for cubs, but also acorns!

12/29/2025

December 29, 2025 - ABRBC (Appalachian Bear Rescue Bird Counters)🪶🦅

Here at Appalachian Bear Rescue, we are excited about all sorts of wildlife conservation. Obviously, we are partial to bears, but when you are working toward conservation of any wildlife species in an area, it benefits all of them in one way or another!

This year, Curator Katrina and former Executive Director Dana Dodd participated in The Audubon Society's 126th Annual Christmas Bird Count which was yesterday! The Christmas Bird Count's (CBC) aim is to take a yearly inventory of birds in the Western Hemisphere (Americas and Canada) using tens of thousands of volunteers. These volunteers spend a day counting both the different species of birds and numbers of each species they find in a specified area. Both visual identification and sound identification can be used. These "community science" efforts help Audubon and other organizations gain a deeper understanding of bird population health and presence as well as help identify bird species that may be on the decline by looking at patterns over the years. It is a great way to help with bird conservation efforts!

Katrina and Dana helped out with the Townsend section of this year's CBC, specifically on the 66 acres of ABR's Bear Facility property and the Laurel Valley neighborhood (the neighborhood adjacent to the bear facility). Over the span of the day, the two birders identified 44 different species of birds amongst the hundreds of birds they heard and saw. Besides using their own ears and eyes (with the help of binoculars, of course), they also used an awesome tool - the Merlin Bird ID app by Cornell. The Merlin app uses your phone's microphone to listen to bird songs and compares them to a large birdsong database to identify what birds you might be hearing. It is a great tool for backyard birdwatchers!

Dana has been birding and taking part of the CBC with her dad and brother for the past few decades in Lawrence County, TN! Katrina has been birding for over a decade but yesterday was exciting because not only did she participate in her first ever CBC, she added a bird to her life list yesterday - the Rusty Blackbird. Birders (also known at Bird Watchers) often keep a running list of all of the different species of birds they've ever seen in their lives. Both Dana and Katrina have life lists with hundreds of birds on them. We are excited that the bear facility acreage can be used to help with multiple different types of conservation!

For more information on the Audubon Christmas Bird Count including ways to join and bird data from the last century, check out https://www.audubon.org/community-science/christmas-bird-count

12/25/2025

December 25, 2025 - Wishing you all a Beary Merry Christmas!🎄🐻

Merry Christmas from all of us at ABR to you and yours. We hope your Christmas has been filled with lots of joy, love, and good food. Fantastic supporters like you are the best possible gift we could receive this year (although it would take a very large tree to fit all of you "gifts" under the tree). As a small gift from us, please enjoy this picture of a very round Rags Bear in the snow from last year!

12/22/2025

December 22, 2025 - Why is it important to give bear cubs a second chance?

Happy Monday to you all! Our apologies for our absence over the weekend. The ABR curators are taking this week off to visit family in various places! Thank you all for all of your support in so many ways from buying things from our store, to sharing our posts, to bidding on our cub paintings (like “Winter Bear” which you can still bid on until 8pm EST tonight at: https://www.ebay.com/itm/287020913017) to the many many donations and checks we’ve been piled up with the past few weeks. ABR staff is taking a well needed rest from the busyness (good busyness) of the last few weeks. Please bear (ha!) with us as we only post a handful of days this week!

We wanted to kick off the holiday week with a message from our very own Blount County Mayor, Ed Mitchell! Ed has been a great friend to ABR during his long tenure of mayor. He has ensured that ABR will be able to continue its mission for many more years to come by securing the Blount County land lease that our Bear Facility is located on for the longest lease period possible! Ed is in his last year of Blount County mayor, and we are incredibly grateful for all of his hard work and support he’s given to ABR over the years to ensure bear cubs in the southeast can have a second chance at life in the wild! Thank you, Ed!

P.S. Rumor has it, Ed can be a bit hard to find this time of year as his 2nd job keeps him quite busy😉 🎅🏻🛷🦌if you happen to see him or a jolly man that is wearing a red suit, thank him for his friendship to ABR and service to Blount County!

12/19/2025

ABR Daily Update December 19, 2025 - "Winter Bear" Painting Auction❄️🐻🎨

Good evening everyone! Short facility update: the fencing for the new enclosures (5&6) is SO close to being totally finished, but with the freeze-thaw cycle we've had the past few weeks and this most recent storm last night, the finishing touches are going slower than planned! Thank you for bearing with us😉. Every piece of chain link hung and every fence post put in the ground is possible because of YOU! Thank you!

We have a special auction this week (although lets be honest, they've all been special). Many of you know and love local artist Doreen Prakshot, and today we bring to you the auction of a very meaningful painting - "Winter Bear". This piece was created specifically for ABR last winter as a physical expression of the emotions Doreen was feeling this time last year. You can feel the depth of feeling and intense care from Doreen when you look at this image.

Bid on "Winter Bear" TONIGHT starting at 8pm EST through Monday at 8pm here: https://www.ebay.com/itm/287020913017

** Please Note that due to the large size of this painting (24"x24"), this item is LOCAL PICKUP ONLY from ABR's Visitor Center in Trillium Cove during normal business hours (Mon-Sat 10am-4pm). We will be closing early on Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) and closed Christmas Day (Dec.25)