By Karen Coppock
According to National Park Service records, the Great Smoky Mountains National Park had more than 13 million visitors in 2023, and one of the Park’s biggest draws is the possibility of seeing black bears! However, park and area tourism increases the possibility that bears and humans come into accidental contact, which can unfortunately lead to orphaned bear cubs. Based in Townsend near the Park, Appalachian Bear Rescue (ABR) is a local 501(c)(3) nonprofit that helps rescue and rehabilitate orphaned and injured black bear cubs with the goal of returning healthy cubs to the wild.
Founded in 1996, ABR has since taken in more than 400 black bear cubs from 9 different states across the Southeast. “Poaching was a big problem back in the day,” said ABR Operations Director Greg Grieco. Unfortunately, the program’s abilities and resources were limited then, and “they had to put down cubs in the early days… It was a barebones effort.”
With generous help from donors and dedicated staff and volunteers over the years, ABR now has better resources for helping orphaned bear cubs, including a new incubator. They also work closely with the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency (TWRA) and The University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine to help injured, sick, or tiny newborn cubs.
However, as of mid-November, ABR has taken in 36 cubs this year, with 29 cubs currently in residence, which ties the record for most in a year with the bear famine years of 2011 and 2015. The nonprofit needs continued help with veterinary medical bills and other expenses, so they have launched a “Bear Necessities” fundraiser, which can be found on their website, AppalachianBearRescue.org.
The black bear population in the area has increased, but with area visitors and a growing population, black bears face new challenges. For example, bears can become used to getting food from humans, such as food left on the trail or in cars, unsecured trash cans, and even bird/hummingbird feeders near homes. The bears are just trying to survive, and if human food is available, they will break into garbage cans and dumpsters, cars, and even houses. When caught in these kinds of contact/conflict situations, the adult bears have to be euthanized because they have lost their fear of human interaction. Sadly, this sometimes leads to orphaned cubs.
In other cases, some bears, including momma bears (sows), are accidentally injured or killed when hit by cars. If the sow has cubs, ABR is often called upon to help rescue and rehabilitate the cubs. Of course, living in the forest has risks for animals, too, and sometimes their injuries are just a product of living in the wild. “This has been a unique year because we do know how many of the bears were orphaned,” said Victoria Reibel, ABR’s Director of Communications, Engagement & Outreach. Instead of being found orphaned or injured under unknown circumstances, ABR staff knows that “about half of the cubs are from conflict and three to four sets [of cubs] are from road injuries,” she reported.
Grieco highly recommends checking out the information site bearwise.org. “We’ve partnered with TWRA [and other groups to provide] nationwide messaging on how to live responsibly with bears,” he said. Bearwise.org has information targeted to different groups of stakeholders, including restaurants, businesses, and renters and landlords.
While ABR’s mission is serious, ABR’s social media and blog provide entertaining and informative glimpses into cub life at the rescue facility, showing the often cute and playful sides of the cubs. Although the rescue facility is closed to the public, these Facebook and blog pictures and videos are a great way to view daily bear cub life and their antics.
The ABR facility is carefully designed to minimize contact with humans. Any type of bonding with human caregivers would make it nearly impossible for the bears to return to the wilderness. The cubs can see each other if they share an enclosure, but they cannot see the human caregivers. Because bears have a great sense of smell, they can certainly smell the caregivers, but they can’t see them. Plastic sheeting covers the fences, so the curators are out of sight when providing food.
East Tennessee is beautiful area with abundant wildlife, but being mindful of the effects of tourism and growth on bears and other wild animals is important so they can survive and thrive. Check out the ABR website (AppalachianBearRescue.org) and Facebook page to get involved and for helpful information on black bears.
Appalachian Bear Rescue Mission
Greg Grieco, Director of Operations, shared that ABR has a threefold mission:
• Rescue and rehabilitate orphaned/injured bear cubs with minimal human contact so they can be returned to the wild
• Educate visitors and local residents about living near bears and best practices for keeping human/bear interaction at a minimum
• Conduct and facilitate research that will help rehabilitate and inform ABR’s abilities to help with bears
How to Help
• Adopt a cub – receive updates on your bear cub.
• Join the ABR Membership Program.
• Shop ABR merchandise online or at their Visitor and Education Center at Trillium Cove.
• Volunteer – ABR policies do not allow direct contact with the cubs, but they need volunteers to help with educational outreach, such as staffing booths at fairs/shows and at the Visitor Center, and for general facility maintenance. To request an ABR volunteer application, email volunteer@appalachianbearrescue.org.
• Donate funds or items from ABR’s Amazon and Walmart gift lists (AppalachianBearRescue.org/giving/otherways)