Appalachian Bear Rescue

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)

12/18/2025

ABR Daily Update December 18, 2025 - Woodpecker Renovations

Weather: 60F (15C), Cloudy and Windy ☁️💨

Yesterday we update you all on some of the "yard work" Greg and Seth were doing - cutting down some trees in Wild Enclosure 2 and burning some leaf litter behind the office. Today, we bring you the "housing renovations" of a resident Pileated Woodpecker. Back in May, we shared pictures with you of the Screech Owl boxes Curator Jamie made to place around the bear facility to encourage these winged friends and natural pest control to nest around the Wild Enclosures. We knew nobody would really take residence in the new boxes until early spring, but we wanted the options to be there while owls may be "house-hunting".

However, a few weeks ago, Curator Katrina went outside of the office to investigate a very loud and incessant "drilling" noise. She looked around the buildings and couldn't find anything. As she was walking towards Enclosures 3 and 4, she looked up and noticed a large visitor at the entrance of one of the owl box. It was not an owl, but a Pileated Woodpecker who was "excavating" the hole to make a roomier entrance! After some investigating and research, it was determined that either the giant crow-sized woodpecker was looking for insects in the wood of the box, or it was renovating the box for a potential nest site. Pileated Woodpeckers don't start nesting until late spring, so we won't know for sure if it is the chosen site until then! We will keep you all updated on this matter.

Speaking of holes, we are excited to announce some jewelry for bear lovers with holes in their ears... for earrings of course. We had our friend Karin from Nature Cast custom make us some Cubs Forever Jewelry, and she knocked it out of the park! We have earring sets, a matching necklace and even a charm. We also got more ABR logo pottery mugs in this week, this time with two mug designs (straight wall and curved) as well as the soup mugs. All items are available in person and online!

Grab your Cubs Forever Jewelry here: https://appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/

Grab your Mugs here: https://appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/products/handmade-pottery-mug-blue

✨Come visit us at our Visitor Center, open 10am-4pm Monday-Saturday. Note we will be open Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) from 10am-2pm and CLOSED Christmas Day (Dec. 25)

🛑 Check out interesting facts about bears and how to live responsibly with them at https://bearwise.org/

12/17/2025

ABR Daily Update December 17, 2025 - Forest Management🌳🌲🪾

Weather: 57F (14C), Cloudy☁️

It is a dry and cloudy day over here in Townsend which is the perfect weather for some outside jobs over at the bear facility. This morning, Interim Director Greg and Curator Seth wandered their way into Wild Enclosure 2 to cut down some trees. Specifically, they were on the hunt for WE2's Callery Pears. If you remember our good forester friend Jesse came to the facility a few months ago to take a look at our wild enclosures and come up with a plan to help the trees and undergrowth in these areas become as healthy as possible (and a resistance to the hard-on-equipment-ness that our residents tend to bring with them). Jesse's suggestion was to get rid of the majority of the mid-story trees and a few select large trees in all of the enclosures to 1) let in more sun/UV rays into the enclosure and 2) help the oaks that Curator Tom has planted over the years get enough sunlight to really start to grow up. Although we will leave the big tree felling to professionals, Greg and Seth are qualified to take down many of these smaller mid-story trees like the Callery Pears. The Callery Pear trees in the enclosures have served their time well, taking on many a beating from many a cub over the years - but they are now officially retired. We'd like to take the time to thank them for their services of enrichment and hardiness amidst the chaos over the last decade or so!

In addition to taking care of our enclosures, Jesse helped us think about how we can take care of the entirety of our 66 leased acres. After all, the 66 acres we lease from Blount County is mostly undisturbed forest and home to plenty of wildlife! Part of this caretaking is controlled burns of the forest floor. It helps to return carbon back to the soil as well as burns up the leaf litter and other fuel that could carry a large wildfire if one was to occur in the area! Greg spent the afternoon (safely) lighting up much of the leaf litter behind the curator office. While this burning is great for the forest health, Greg also really enjoys it as a break from some of his "computer work", so it is a win-win in our books!

12/16/2025

ABR Daily Update December 16, 2025-
Educating Our Local Cub(s)...Scouts!

Last week Katrina and Greg were invited to speak to their neighborhood cub scout group, Pack 107, who meets just down the road from their home in Wears Valley.

The pack leader happens to be our good friend Josh Rimel who has done a lot of work at ABR recently with Rimel's Property Services.

Living in Sevier County, most of these Cub Scouts have had more than one close encounter with bears in their daily lives, and we want to make sure they know everything they need to coexist with their furry neigh-bears!

Not surprisingly, all them were well aware of the issues that stem from bears accessing trash and other anthropogenic food sources, including Meemaw's bird feeders!

After a short and fun education presentation by Curator Katrina, the little cubs got to get a hands-on learning experience with all of the ABR educational props such as a bear pelt, skull, teeth, claws, and s**t!

Before leaving for the night all Scouts promised to be BearWise and tell their Meemaw's that they have to put up their bird feeders when bears are active!

Thank you for supporting our mission so that we can offer free educational programs like this to the future residents and leaders of our communities!

12/15/2025

ABR Daily Update December 15, 2025 - Sharing is NOT always caring

Weather: 37F (3C), Sunny☀️

Here is a clip from our good friend, former ABR curator and wildlife expert Daryl Ratajczak. Daryl shared this very timely wisdom during our ABR Member Beary Good Reads Book Club meeting last week. In light of some of the wild videos that have surfaced from peoples' interactions with bears in Gatlinburg the last few weeks, Daryl reminds us that we need to be thoughtful of how we interact with these posts and articles on social media and the news. Even if these "viral" posts are shared with commentary that disagrees with what is happening in the video, a share is a share, and the more people that share these posts, the more Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc will "boost" the video to show it to more people. This can sometimes unintentionally lead to a video becoming more popular, and in turn, get in front of people who sctually do intend to put a bear in a situation that could lead to it being euthanized for their own internet popularity. So next time you see a post of a bear in a bad situation, instead of liking or sharing, think about scrolling past it - or if you feel so incline, leave a short comment like "not cool" to break up any positive or funny comments that may be sending the wrong message about the situation. After all, speaking up really could save a bear's life!

12/14/2025

ABR Daily Post December 14, 2025 - Sunny Sunday

Weather: 26F (-3C), Sunny ☀️

We are wishing everyone a restful and cozy Sunday evening! It is supposed to get down into the low teens here in East Tennessee tonight. Curator Tom made sure everything was "freeze-proofed" at the facility, as we have many water lines, water tanks, pipes, and other things that are subject to freezing around the facility! Luckily bears are pretty much freeze proof, thanks to their warm and fluffy double winter coats!

While you're inside staying warm, go ahead and grab yourself a 30th anniversary ABR calendar or two. We've heard if you get the calendar before the new year starts, you're more likely to write down important dates like your parent's birthdays or your anniversary before they come around. You can even get one for a loved one as a gift that magically has all important dates already written in it so they don't forget😉 Oh, and the calendar includes a bunch of bear pictures, so that is as good a reason as any to get one!

Grab one here: https://appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/

Read some interesting BearWise info here: https://bearwise.org/

12/13/2025

ABR Daily Update December 13, 2025 - Announcing ABR's First Annual Rockin' for the Rescue Benefit Show🐻🎸🎤

Weather: 52F (11C), Sunny☀️

We are so excited to announce tickets for ABR's First Annual Rockin' for the Rescue Benefit Show are LIVE. Come join ABR staff, board members, volunteers and supporters for an afternoon of good music, good food and good fellowship at this family friendly event! The show is on Sunday March 29, 2026 at The Shed Smokehouse & Juke Joint in Maryville, TN. Bands will be playing from 12pm-7pm. Come for one band or stay for all of them! Here is the 5 band lineup with something for everybody:

Dreams- A Fleetwood Mac Experience
Roger Hay Band- Blues,Jazz & Rock
Crazy on Heart- Classic Tribute to Heart
Shady Sadie- Good Ole' Southern Rock & Country
SuperCharger- #1 All 70's Classic Tribute

There will be plenty of The Shed's delicious BBQ and drinks for purchase. We are also excited to announce multiple vendors will be in attendance including some sweet treats, face painting and even artist Monica Wells Art will be there with plenty of her beautiful hand painted bear art!

Early bird tickets are ON SALE NOW for $30 (quite the steal if you ask us)! Perfect for those of you who have waited to purchase holiday gifts until the last minute😉 There are a limited number of tickets, so be sure to grab yours now! You can purchase them here: https://appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/products/tickets-abrs-rockin-for-the-rescue-benefit-concert-2026 . All proceeds from this event are going to ABR and our future bear cubs!

A special thanks to The Shed in Maryville for providing the stage and space for this awesome event and a thank you to all of the bands donating their talents for ABR. This event was dreamed up and planned by ABR's Tracey Torres! Keep an eye out for more details to come, including t-shirts, sponsorship opportunities and more!

12/12/2025

ABR Daily Update December 12, 2025 - Remembering Our "Why"🐻

Weather: 53F (12C), Sunny☀️

Happy Friday to all! Today we wanted to celebrate the release anniversary of 2 ABR alumni bears from 2023 - Sprout and Cricket. These brothers came to ABR in August of 2023 after being found alone in someone's yard in Sevierville. Later that day, their mother was found dead in the area which left these two cubs orphaned. The cubs were put in the care of ABR to grow into bigger, older bears that would have a good chance of making it in the wild on their own.

On December 12 of 2023, the brothers were released into Great Smoky Mountains National Park, back into the wild where they belong!

Release days are bitter sweet (but mostly sweet) for ABR staff and our wonderful supporters. Release days help us remember why we do what we do. Bears are incredibly resilient animals, and it is our honor to give them the care they need so they can have second chances at being wild bears.

We think fondly of Sprout and Cricket and their time at ABR. We hope they are living wild and happy lives! Their story, and the stories of the 424 other ABR alumni cubs, keep us grounded and moving forward in our mission. Thanks for helping us give bear cubs (past and future) a second chance!❤

12/11/2025

ABR Daily Update December 11th, 2025 - Don't be a Grinch, Be BearWise!🐻

Weather: 46F (8C), Sunny 🌤️

Yesterday, we posted a news story featuring Interim Director Greg that focused on how despite some popular bear stories coming from Gatlinburg these past few months, bear related calls to city officials from the town are significantly lower than they have been in years past! This is in huge part because of city-wide bear-resistant dumpster requirements as well as expanded laws against feeding bears in the city. Kudos to Gatlinburg!

As many of you know, in addition to these efforts, Gatlinburg supports its very own BearWise Taskforce! This taskforce is made up of individuals from local businesses, the Gatlinburg Police Department, Gatlinburg City Officials and many others who are all passionate about coming up with real solutions to help keep our bears in this area safe. ABR is proud to work closely with the Smokies BearWise taskforce on all things BearWise.

To focus on a positive from the Gatlinburg Parade this year, ABR Board member SJ, along with our friends from the Smokies BearWise Taskforce, put together a fantastic BearWise float! The theme for the float this year: Don't Be a Grinch, Be BearWise. The BearWise float even got the honor of hosting the Gatlinburg famous "Zeno Bear" for the 2nd year in a row. Not only was this float seen by thousands of people in person from all over the world last Friday, but the parade will also be broadcast on over 50 news stations around the country during the holiday season!

Oh! Did we mention the float won bronze🥉 in the Best Professional Float category? This is awesome considering there are over 100 floats in the parade! Also, a huge thanks to FASTSIGNS for providing fantastic looking posters for the float that helped get the BearWise message out to thousands (and they were, indeed, extremely fast).

If you'd like to find out where to catch the parade on TV, check out gatlinburg.com/where-to-watch

12/10/2025

ABR Daily Post: December 10, 2025

Weather: 55F (13C), Partly Sunny and Windy 🌥️💨

Yesterday, Executive Director Greg participated in an interview with one of our local news stations, WBIR Channel 10 in downtown Gatlinburg. The topic: Why are we seeing all of these seemingly comfortable bears in the middle of downtown interacting with people?

Before we start talking about common culprits (trash, bird seed, leftovers, and intentional feeding by people) we want to recognize the huge effort that the City of Gatlinburg has made over the past 2 years to make all trash receptacles in the city bear-resistant and the efforts by Gatlinburg Police to enforce the ordinances requiring it. They have come a long way and spent millions of dollars to prevent bears from accessing trash and being intentional fed. The Smokies BearWise Taskforce and the City of Gatlinburg leadership have worked with ABR and other community partners to take some major steps towards making Gatlinburg a more BearWise City and they deserve to be congratulated.

At the end of the day. Keeping food and trash away from bears in even a small city like Gatlinburg is much harder and more complicated than it sounds!

Now we need our locals, businesses, and visitors to do their part.

We hate to say it, but instances like bears on roofs and strolling through crowds in a parade have been happening for a long time in Gatlinburg and what we're seeing is not necessarily due to an increase in the bear population or these types of behaviors, but an increase in the number of people in town with cameras at the ready and a desire to be popular on social media. We owe these bears our respect and some personal space. Despite what some of the public comments have said, no wild bear should be or wants to be in situations like this.

As you know, we do not think this type of attention helps bears or does much to resolve some of the greater issues we face in our local area with Human-Bear Conflicts.

Even if all of the trash, bird seed, grills, and pet foods were locked up today and made 100% inaccessible to bears and no one fed them...they would still need to be able to travel through the city of Gatlinburg to be able to adequately navigate their home range and use the habitats that bears have always used.

You may ask, "What more can we do?"

Beyond following the 6 BearWise Basics. We advocate for folks to take it one step further. Perhaps, we will propose a 7th BearWise Basic that will provide for a more sustainable future for all bears:
PRESERVE BEAR HABITAT!

We share this space. We need to acknowledge that every bit of development, both commercial and residential, in the Greater Smoky Mountain Region impacts our bears and other wildlife. We always need to remember we are not the only ones who live here!

Find more BearWise information at: bearwise.org

Link to WBIR News Story from Yesterday: https://www.wbir.com/article/news/local/sevierville-sevier/gatlinburg-bear-sightings-rise-despite-bear-proof-dumpsters/51-d3f23f09-527d-455a-ba03-bc5f5ebc734e

Bears in Gatlinburg are more visible due to social media, but city efforts to bear-proof dumpsters have reduced bear interactions.