Appalachian Bear Rescue

09/03/2025

ABR Daily Update-September 3, 2025-Bears and Rain

We apologize for the late post today. Fencing progress for wild enclosures 5 and 6 was halted this morning due to the rain. The team will pick back up tomorrow. While rain can get in the way of human activities, it does little to stop black bears. Masters of adaptation, their thick fur is one of their most remarkable features—especially when it rains.

A black bear’s coat is made up of two layers: a dense underfur for insulation and longer guard hairs that repel water. When the rain starts to fall, these guard hairs act like a natural raincoat, keeping the inner layer dry and the bear warm. This waterproof design allows black bears to roam, forage, and rest even during downpours.

You might spot one shaking off after a swim, sending water droplets flying, but rarely will you see a bear truly bothered by the rain. It’s just another day in the wild for them—no umbrella needed. Here’s a snapshot of some past ABR residents unbothered by a short downpour back in 2015. Thank you for your support. 🐻❤️

09/02/2025

ABR Daily Update-September 2, 2025-Posts in the Ground

Weather: 75F (24C) Humidity 65%, Cloudy ☁️

This picture may not look like much to most...but to us, it's everything. Today our friends at Stanley Fencing broke ground with the new enclosure posts for ABR's upcoming wild enclosures 5 and 6. We OFFICIALLY have posts in the ground, people!!!! 😊🐻🥳

We would not be here if it were not for all of your generous support. If you would like to continue helping us work towards re-opening our facility gates for future bear cubs in need, please consider donating to our Cubs Forever Campaign. ❤ Thank you. https://appalachianbearrescue.org/cubs-forever-campaign/

09/01/2025

ABR Daily Update-September 1, 2025-Beary Good Reads Book Club🐻📚

Weather: 72F (22C) Humidity 71%, Cloudy ☁️

We hope that everyone is having a relaxing Labor Day weekend! Normally on Labor Day we would post an update about how the current cub residents are working very hard on gaining weight for their prospective releases back to the wild. This year however, we have been busy preparing for ABR's first ever book club!!

A few important details:
- You must be an active ABR member to participate. If you are unsure about your membership status, please reach out to Tori at [email protected]

-You can renew your ABR membership or join ABR's membership program by visiting, https://appalachianbearrescue.org/membership/

-You can purchase your copy of "Spooning a Bear" here: https://www.amazon.com/Spooning-Bear-Misadventures-Biologist-Unforgettable-ebook/dp/B0BRFN6ZZS

-You do NOT have to be caught up on all of the readings to attend Beary Good Reads book club - many will choose to join just for the discussion☺️

08/31/2025

August 31, 2025: Thank you, EcoWater!

Back in July, we updated you all on the great news that Advanced Water Systems (AWS) of East Tennessee generously donated not one, but TWO top of the line EcoWater Treatment Systems to our rescue facility. We at ABR cannot express the immense gratitude we have to Gary and his team at Advanced Water Systems in choosing ABR for EcoWater’s 100 for 100 giveaway to celebrate their 100th anniversary.

At our bear facility, water is of utmost importance. We use it for everything! From filling up cubby pools to washing off-duty Not A Polar Bears to cleaning up after cubby chaos in all of our indoor facilities, having clean reliable water is a must. Watch this short video to help get a small glimpse into how grateful we are for these new water systems, and how they will be helping future cubs for years and years to come.

Thanks to ReelVision LLC for capturing the weeklong process of the installation of the two new EcoWater Systems. Be sure to give Gary from Advanced Water Systems a call for any water softener or filtration system needs in East Tennessee.

08/30/2025

Here’s a look at some of the preparations Rimel's Property Services has helped us with to get ready to put the new fence in the ground for our newest enclosure. Cody Mobley is finishing the dozer work on the roadbed today to make sure it’s ready for Stanley Fencing and Landscaping, Inc. next week!

We’re just over the halfway point in the campaign, and we are thrilled that we are able to put your generous donations to good use and spend the money at local, family owned small businesses. These guys give us a great deal and work their tails off. If you’re in the Blount and Sevier county area and need good honest work done on your land please give them a call!

08/29/2025

ABR Daily Update-August 29, 2025-Bearied Treasure Pt. 2 🪙🐻

Weather: 80°F (27°C) Humidity 46%, Sunny 🌞

Join Curators Seth and Katrina as they continue following mysterious clues to find the "bearied" treasure. What do you think? Were they successful?

If you too would like to find some bearied treasure, you can visit our Visitor and Education Center Gift Shop HERE: https://appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/

*All purchases made in the ABR store go directly back towards helping us being able to welcome bear cubs back to the ABR facility

08/28/2025

ABR Daily Update-August 28, 2025-Bearied Treasure
🧐🐻🗺🤔

Weather: 77°F (25°C) Humidity 46%, Cloudy ☁️

Curators Seth and Katrina received an ominous envelope at the ABR Bear Headquarters earlier today. Who delivered this note? And for what reason? Most importantly, will the curators find this "bearied" treasure? Check back tomorrow to see!!

08/27/2025

ABR Daily Update-August 27, 2025-Fencing in Bear Cubs 𐂺🐻

Weather: 74°F (23°C) Humidity 47%, Cloudy ☁️

Thank you for your endless support in not only our goal of being able to welcome bear cubs back to the rescue facility, but also our overall mission and commitment to giving injured and orphaned black bear cubs a second chance at life in the wild. We couldn’t do it without you!!

Because of your generous contributions to the Cubs Forever Campaign, we are now able to move forward with the construction of what will become wild enclosures 5 and 6. In total, these enclosures will sit on one acre of land directly behind wild enclosures 1 and 2. Like the original four wild enclosures, enclosures 5 and 6 will have a divider fence placed between the two, separating the total area into two, half-acre enclosures which will allow us to rotate/move bears as needed and to accommodate for new cleaning and sanitation protocols.

There are a lot of moving pieces to successfully fencing in wild bear cubs. After all, the bears that come through our rescue facility are wild, will remain wild and therefore are treated as such. This means that every nook, cranny and corner where a bear cub could possibly find an “opportunity for early release” needs to be thoroughly considered and examined. Multiple fences, barriers below ground and above, as well as safety corridors for the curators are just a few of the crucial considerations. Wild enclosures 5 and 6 will have to meet the same set of requirements that our other four wild enclosures have met. The process will look something like this:

First, 9-gauge chain link fencing will need to be buried one foot down into the ground and three feet out into the interior portion of the wild enclosures. This needs to be done around the entirety of the enclosure’s area. Next, eight foot tall, 9-gauge chain link will be installed and make up the majority portion of the fence. Inside of this eight-foot-tall fence, electric wire and plastic sheeting will be fixed. Starting at the ground, four feet of electric wire will be installed (approximately 6 strands) in increments that will prevent small cubs from being able to squeeze through. From the top of the electric fencing strands to the top of the remaining chain link fence, heavy-duty black plastic sheeting will be secured. The plastic acts as both a visual barrier between the bear cubs and their caretakers (see above about bears remaining wild) and as a safeguard against climbing cub claws. At the very top of the 8-foot-tall fence, 9-gauge chain link will be used once again to construct a three-foot overhang into the wild enclosure at a 45-degree angle. This overhang contains 2 strands of electric fencing and 2 strands of barbed wire.

Then, there must also be a second fence – the perimeter fence. The perimeter fence acts as an additional safety measure to keep bear cubs in and outside bears/people out. It is also a safe corridor for our curators to navigate in while hauling 5-gallon buckets of delicious smelling food - something that outside wild black bears might take an interest in. For the perimeter fence, we plan to use eight-foot-tall, standard 11.5-gauge chain link with another 3-foot overhang at the top that will face the exterior of the perimeter. This overhang will too be fixed with barbed wire and electric fencing strands. And finally, one more strand of electric fencing surrounds the entirety of the outside of the perimeter fence.

Phew!!! And did we mention that we are getting started on all of this NEXT TUESDAY!?

We will be welcoming Stanley Fencing and Landscaping, Inc. out to begin this monumental project after Labor Day weekend. Below is a rough sketch of what we envision for the new wild enclosures. Please keep in mind that this is not an exact blueprint and locations, distances and scale of future observation towers and acclimation pens may change.

If you would like to contribute to the construction of wild enclosures 5 and 6, please visit our campaign page: https://appalachianbearrescue.org/cubs-forever-campaign/ Every dollar counts!! Thank you so much for your support.

08/26/2025

ABR Daily Update – August 26, 2025 – Campaign Update Week 5 🐻

Weather: 75°F (24°C) Humidity 45%, Mostly Cloudy

We are ecstatic to be updating you today on our Cubs Forever Campaign progress. Appalachian Bear Rescue’s Cubs Forever Campaign was launched on July 22nd 2025 and is arguably one of the most critical fundraising efforts in our organization’s history. As a 501(c)(3), fundraising and garnering support for our mission of giving black bear cubs a second chance at life in the wild has always been imperative. However, our current campaign marks a historic moment for ABR and could define the future of our mission and our impact on helping bear cubs in need.

Thanks to YOU we have now surpassed the halfway point!! After five weeks, we have reached 55% of our total campaign goal, bringing the current total to $375,925.00!

We are so very grateful to each and every one of you for being a part of this historic moment in ABR’s history. Your donations, comments, likes, shares and support is quite literally shaping the future of our organization. ABR’s 30th anniversary is coming up in 2026 and we cannot think of a better way to celebrate than by being able to welcome bear cubs back to our rehabilitation facility. Join us today in building new tomorrows.

You can donate directly to the Cubs Forever Campaign HERE: https://appalachianbearrescue.org/cubs-forever-campaign/

08/25/2025

August 25, 2025: Incoming....New ABR Shirts! 🐻👕

We promised you a week of new and exciting updates across the board. To kick things off, please check out the new ABR shirt design that is now available in our online and in-person store!

The front of the design sports ABR’s 2025 Cubs Forever logo and the back features a geographically accurate topographical map of where ABR's bear facility is located in Townsend, TN. The bear on the map represents where the entrance to our bear care facility is. The writing on the shirt includes "Appalachian Bear Rescue, Townsend, TN" and the coordinates of our Trillium Cove Visitor Center. At the bottom of the map the shirt reads "Building New Tomorrows Together".

These shirts are available in both short or long sleeve options and all of the proceeds will go directly towards the Cubs Forever Campaign. We will have a campaign update for everyone in tomorrow’s post. Thank you for your support. ☺️

To purchase a long sleeve t-shirt: https://appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/products/building-new-tomorrows-cubs-forever-tee-long-sleeve

To purchase a short sleeve t-shirt: https://appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/products/building-new-tomorrows-cubs-forever-tee-short-sleeve

08/24/2025

Happy Sunday!
No “regular” update today but we do have a lot coming up this week including an update on wild enclosure fencing work, new merchandise, more on our upcoming soil study and an ABR book club!! Stay tuned…🐻

08/23/2025

ON THIS DAY IN ABR HISTORY: AUGUST 23rd

Many of you commented on yesterday’s video about missing the regular cub updates from ABR…and we do too!! We are optimistic that by this time next year we will have already welcomed bear cubs back at our facility and will have plenty of new cub stories to share with you all. But until then, please enjoy the story of ABR’s past resident, Iris Bear. Iris was released back into the wild six years ago today. We hope she is still doing well. ☺️🐻

If you would like to help Appalachian Bear Rescue welcome bear cubs back even faster, please consider donating to our Cubs Forever Campaign: https://appalachianbearrescue.org/cubs-forever-campaign/

Evening Edition

Our mission with Iris Bear ended today with her successful release back to the wild.

Iris arrived at ABR on May 14, 2019. She was about 15 months old, weighing only 19.8 pounds (9 kg), and suffering from malnutrition and tick infestation. After her examination at The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, Iris spent time in an Acclimation Pen before joining Sweetie and Daffodil, two female black bear yearlings, in Wild Enclosure #3.

It took a while for the yearlings to decide how they were to share their enclosure. In the wild, bears their age live a mostly solitary life and view other bears as competitors. With an endless supply of high-quality food available 24/7 and an Enclosure large enough to allow the residents to choose how to interact, Iris, Sweetie and Daffodil chose to be friends, playing, foraging, swimming and sleeping together. Iris thrived, gaining weight and strength, and it soon became apparent it was time for all three yearlings to return to the wild.

The curators initiated our “passive capture protocol” whereby an Acclimation Pen is loaded with food and left open so the bears become accustomed to entering and exiting at will. Shortly before the release date, the gate is lowered, trapping the bears within, making it easier and safer to immobilize them for release.

However, the Acclimation Pen adjoining Enclosure #3 isn’t suitable for multiple captures, but The Cub House adjoining Enclosure #4 is. The curators raised the gate separating the enclosures and the yearlings crossed over on their own. They’ve had access to The Cub House for several days, and today Iris accepted our invitation to leave. The curators closed the gate to prepare her for release.

Iris was safely immobilized before transport to the Release Staging Area. The Park Rangers and our Curators worked quickly and efficiently. Iris weighs 79.4 pounds (36.01 kg), a very good weight for a 19-month-old yearling at this time of year. Her fur is thick, glossy and tick-free and her teeth are in excellent condition.

The rangers placed Iris in the transport pen and invited Curators Coy and Ashley to accompany them to the release site. Iris shot out of the pen and up a tree where she gave the curators the best thankyou they could have hoped for: she huffed and blew at them! Good bear!

We thank the people who called about Iris, the rangers who rescued her, the vets who examined her, and the ABR volunteers who work tirelessly on behalf of bears they will never meet. Most of all, we thank you, our kind and generous friends, for giving Iris a second chance. We wish her a long and happy life. ❤️🐻

Our ten cubs and two yearlings had a good day. We’ll post an update about them tomorrow. ❤️🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻🐻

https://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/51586/donate_page/donate?track=Website_Donate_Page_Link

*We post updates about our residents, twice daily, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, and once daily on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.