Our Bears - Hickory

On October 3rd, 2001 the Appalachian Bear Center received a call from Bill Stiver of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He told us that he was assisting the State of Tennessee in capturing several bear cubs.

The cubs were on the edge of Gatlinburg and their mother had not been seen with them for several days. It was feared that she had been killed during the legal bear hunt that had just concluded. Worse, it was feared that if the cubs were not moved soon, they would become nuisance bears.

The first cub was captured and brought to ABC on October 5th. Upon arrival at the Center, a basic physical on the cub, later nicknamed Hickory, revealed a weight of 40 pounds! It is possible to release cubs at 50 pounds, so this one was obviously very healthy. He was placed in one of our pens while the State and the Park Service continued to try and catch his siblings. Six days later Hickory's brother was caught. This cub weighed 47 pounds, so the decision was made to release them both together.

Both bears were released in the Tellico Wildlife Management Area, where they are assured a healthy home far away from humans and related hazards.