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Appalachian Bear Rescue (ABR) is a black bear rescue facility located just outside of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Townsend, Tennessee. ABR is a nonprofit, tax-exempt organization that has been returning black bears back to the wild since 1996. Each year black bears from our national parks and surrounding areas are orphaned, injured, or in need of medical care. Thanks to Appalachian Bear Rescue, these bears are given a second chance at life in the wild.
April 16, 2026: A Legislative Victory for Black Bears in Tennessee
The passage of a new bill in the Tennessee State Legislature known as SB2597/HB2215 is a huge win for black bears and wildlife conservation. The bill, which will now take effect July 1st of 2026, makes feeding a black bear in Tennessee, intentionally or unintentionally, a class B misdemeanor punishable by a fine of no less than $250. People may receive 1 written warning for unintentional feeding (think trash or bird seed) and after that they will have to pay a much heftier fine than in the past.
In finer print, the bill will allow/require local law enforcement agencies to partner with TWRA to establish and post areas that will be subject to the rules put forth in this bill. It does NOT automatically make it illegal to feed bears in all of Tennessee just by being passed and signed into law.
Today, Naturalist Communications Specialist Jon D. B. and ABR Executive Director Greg Grieco got together to discuss this recently signed bill that will help reduce human-bear conflict in Tennessee. For more clarity on what this bill means at present, please watch the video included in this post.
Moving forward, we strongly encourage and sincerely hope that everyone in Tennessee Bear Country will urge their local law enforcement agencies and municipalities to take advantage of this opportunity to make it illegal to feed bears in their cities, townships, and counties.
Unfortunately, it has been legal to feed black bears in the state of Tennessee (outside of our state and federal lands and the City of Gatlinburg) without any legal ramifications for too long. Our bears have long paid the price and many cubs have been brought to us over the years as a result of bears being able to freely access human food and trash.
This bill could finally give our local law enforcement agencies the “teeth and claws” they need to better protect our bears from negligent human behavior.
There’s still work to be done, but please don’t let that stop you from celebrating. Thank you to our representatives and to everyone who has written letters and voiced your opinion over the years advocating for laws like these. It worked!
Are you an ABR Member? If so, you definitely don't want to miss out on this month's virtual education night. We'll be talking with ABR's very own Lead Curator and resident parasitologist, Seth Wyckoff about the focal species of our on going soil parasite surveillance project.
Baylisascaris Transfuga, commonly known as the Bear Roundworm, is an intestinal parasite found in bear species across the northern hemisphere of the entire world.
We will spare you the pictures of 🐻💩 from the past. We assure you we have plenty!
However, those who have followed us for a while know that many of our residents come to us, especially the emaciated/malnourished ones, with a surplus of worms that have to be eliminated upon arrival. Wild bears often carry these worms in their GI tract at tolerable levels with little to no symptoms or side-effects of infection; however, when overloaded it can be problematic and detrimental to a bear's health, especially young bears.
If you want to learn more tune in next Wednesday night (the 22nd) at 7PM EST to listen to Seth elaborate as he picks apart the worm with a fine-toothed comb. The link will be sent to all ABR member email addresses on Wednesday afternoon. Recordings will also be emailed afterwards for anyone who wants to watch it again or couldn't attend the session live.
In a rare East Tennessee Springtime occurrence, we have had a beautiful and dry week! This means that we were able to check a few more items off of our "to-do" list.
This week we:
✅officially finished hanging all of the electric fencing ✅"plumbed" the pools so we can run fresh water directly into them from the spigot on the outside of the enclosures ✅purchased and connected hoses to the spigots for WE 5 & 6 so both pools have water connection and there are hoses to clean both Acclimation Pens ✅Tested the upper electric line on the outside of the perimeter fence to find it in perfect working order to thwart intruder bears ✅Ran the lower electric line of the perimeter fence around all of the outside of the new enclosures and connected it up to the existing line around the old enclosures
After all of these things were completed, ABR Board Member Phil who is the Director of Animals at Zoo Knoxville and his colleague Kelly (the Assistant Director of Animal Care) came out to check out all of our work and provide a few tips on the New Enclosures. They have an immense amount of knowledge of keeping all sorts of animals safe and in their enclosures at the zoo, so we trust their expertise when it comes to cub escape thwarting! Once we tie up a few final loose ends of WE 5 & 6, we plan to request an inspection! We are still waiting on some results from the soil survey, but those are being worked on as we speak.
As we have been walking up and down and up and down and somehow up again for all of the tools and supplies needed for enclosure building, we have stumbled across a few of our non bear residents. Enjoy! ... See MoreSee Less
This week, curators have been taking advantage of the perfect spring weather to put the finishing touches on the new Wild Enclosures. We will be sharing photos later this week, but for now, the anticipation of our announcement of "officially ready for inspection" will have to build up😉.
In the meantime, we wanted to share photos from our ABR supporter paint night with artist Monica Wells Art at the end of March! We had a grand ole time chatting and painting with supporters from all around the east TN and western NC area . After only a few short hours, everyone went home with a masterpiece of the bears from ABR's 30th anniversary logo painted on the background of a beautiful Smoky Mountain sunset. We are always grateful to meet and talk with the wonderful people who support our mission, whether they have been following for years or have just heard about Appalachian Bear Rescue. Thanks to everyone for coming out to paint, and a special thanks to the Townsend Abbey for donating the space for us to get together. We have the beary best community😊 ... See MoreSee Less
A few weeks ago, Director Greg got a call regarding the donation of a mink fur coat. Our new ABR friend, Dianne, was downsizing her home and moving to Tennessee and wanted to put her coat to good use because she won't have much use for it here in Tennessee with our warm weather (Dianne is originally from Wisconsin). She particularly wanted the neonate cubs that come to ABR to be able to use it to stay warm and cozy during their stay in the cub nursery! As many of you know, being a neonate cub without a mother bear can be a very stressful and scary time for a tiny bear cub, so we do everything in our power to make sure they feel safe and comfortable. This real fur will be a great addition to the nursery setup. Dianne understands that bear cubs are messy (and destructive) babies, and her fur coat may bear the brunt of some cub play (and scat), but she assured us that she was happy to make this donation for the use of many future cubs! We are very grateful she decided to repurpose this fur for the benefit of little cubs. We know the cubs will appreciate this generous donation. Thanks, Dianne!
The plan for this coat is to cut it up into sections and make little "fur sleeves" to put heartbeat toys in to stick into in cub caves for bear cubs to snuggle!🐻 ... See MoreSee Less
Get a little nostalgic with this handmade ABR throwback t-shirt quilt made by ABR supporter Samantha Barton. Samantha made and donated the quilt specifically to help raise money for our future cubs.
This beautiful quilt is crafted from throwback t-shirts featuring some of ABR's most popular designs from over the years. Each square tells a story, celebrating the bears, the memories, and the mission that means so much to our supporters.
The quilt features a cool tone theme of 12 past ABR shirts, some from a very long time ago! The border of the quilt is brown and the back is a patterned beige color. This quilt is the perfect way to celebrate our 30th Anniversary.
Whether you’ve been with us since the beginning or just discovered us, this quilt is a cozy piece of ABR history you can treasure for years to come. Quilt measures 50"x 64", the perfect size for the foot of your bed or for cozying up on the couch with your favorite drink and reading a good book!
Don’t miss your chance to own this heartfelt creation while supporting our future cubs. Click the link below to start bidding (Bidding starts at 7PM EST TONIGHT and concludes on Monday (4/6) at 7PM EST)! ⬇️⬇️⬇️ www.ebay.com/itm/287251106052
🚚Shipping available or for local pickup at our ABR Visitor Center (121 Painted Trillium Way, Townsend TN) during normal business hours. PLEASE NOTE if you want to pick up item in person, you must select that option when checking out! ... See MoreSee Less
This is a much awaited announcement, as we’ve been hearing. This afternoon curator Katrina went to pick up more of the 30th Anniversary green tie dye shirts, so we are officially restocked (still limited quantities)!
ABR has a staff of very skilled professionals, but they’re costly to keep around 😉 All profit from our store goes directly to all of the things it takes to run ABR and get our facility ready for cubs. Thanks for your support! ... See MoreSee Less
No jokes over here today for April Fool's Day! Curators have been working diligently to continue checking off checklist items for the new Wild Enclosures 5 & 6. After almost two weeks of hanging thousands of insulators on the fences of both new enclosures as well as hanging thousands of feet of electric polywire, we were officially ready to test the fencing! This involves connecting the electric fence energizer box to two ground rods and, of course, our polyrope!
Once both the ground wire and hot wire were connected, the energizer box was turned on (we held our breath for this part)! Much to our joy, the fence became "hot" - really stinking hot. A few minor details to the electric fencing is still required before both enclosures are officially considered "cub climb proof" but this is a huge job almost completed! Additionally, curator Tom finished wrapping all of the forbidden trees in the new enclosures, and a ditch was dug for the water line plumbing to the new enclosure pools.
Once these enclosures are officially finished (we are SO close) AND the results from the soil sample survey are complete (this is scooting right along as well), we will be ready to be inspected so we can be officially licensed to care for bear cubs again should any need our services! Each day we get closer! ... See MoreSee Less
DONATE TODAY!!
April 16, 2026: A Legislative Victory for Black Bears in Tennessee
The passage of a new bill in the Tennessee State Legislature known as SB2597/HB2215 is a huge win for black bears and wildlife conservation. The bill, which will now take effect July 1st of 2026, makes feeding a black bear in Tennessee, intentionally or unintentionally, a class B misdemeanor punishable by a fine of no less than $250. People may receive 1 written warning for unintentional feeding (think trash or bird seed) and after that they will have to pay a much heftier fine than in the past.
In finer print, the bill will allow/require local law enforcement agencies to partner with TWRA to establish and post areas that will be subject to the rules put forth in this bill. It does NOT automatically make it illegal to feed bears in all of Tennessee just by being passed and signed into law.
Here’s a link to the full bill:
wapp.capitol.tn.gov/apps/BillInfo/Default?BillNumber=SB2597
Today, Naturalist Communications Specialist Jon D. B. and ABR Executive Director Greg Grieco got together to discuss this recently signed bill that will help reduce human-bear conflict in Tennessee. For more clarity on what this bill means at present, please watch the video included in this post.
Moving forward, we strongly encourage and sincerely hope that everyone in Tennessee Bear Country will urge their local law enforcement agencies and municipalities to take advantage of this opportunity to make it illegal to feed bears in their cities, townships, and counties.
Unfortunately, it has been legal to feed black bears in the state of Tennessee (outside of our state and federal lands and the City of Gatlinburg) without any legal ramifications for too long. Our bears have long paid the price and many cubs have been brought to us over the years as a result of bears being able to freely access human food and trash.
This bill could finally give our local law enforcement agencies the “teeth and claws” they need to better protect our bears from negligent human behavior.
There’s still work to be done, but please don’t let that stop you from celebrating. Thank you to our representatives and to everyone who has written letters and voiced your opinion over the years advocating for laws like these. It worked!
Let's keep that momentum going - together. ... See MoreSee Less
38 CommentsComment on Facebook
April 14, 2026:
Are you an ABR Member? If so, you definitely don't want to miss out on this month's virtual education night. We'll be talking with ABR's very own Lead Curator and resident parasitologist, Seth Wyckoff about the focal species of our on going soil parasite surveillance project.
Baylisascaris Transfuga, commonly known as the Bear Roundworm, is an intestinal parasite found in bear species across the northern hemisphere of the entire world.
We will spare you the pictures of 🐻💩 from the past. We assure you we have plenty!
However, those who have followed us for a while know that many of our residents come to us, especially the emaciated/malnourished ones, with a surplus of worms that have to be eliminated upon arrival. Wild bears often carry these worms in their GI tract at tolerable levels with little to no symptoms or side-effects of infection; however, when overloaded it can be problematic and detrimental to a bear's health, especially young bears.
If you want to learn more tune in next Wednesday night (the 22nd) at 7PM EST to listen to Seth elaborate as he picks apart the worm with a fine-toothed comb. The link will be sent to all ABR member email addresses on Wednesday afternoon. Recordings will also be emailed afterwards for anyone who wants to watch it again or couldn't attend the session live.
If you're not a current member, don't worry. You can renew or sign up for your annual ABR membership by following this link: appalachianbearrescue.org/become-a-member/
If you have any issues with your membership please email katrina.anderson@appalachianbearrescue.org
We look forward to seeing you there! ... See MoreSee Less
6 CommentsComment on Facebook
April 10, 2026 - Finishing touches😎
In a rare East Tennessee Springtime occurrence, we have had a beautiful and dry week! This means that we were able to check a few more items off of our "to-do" list.
This week we:
✅officially finished hanging all of the electric fencing
✅"plumbed" the pools so we can run fresh water directly into them from the spigot on the outside of the enclosures
✅purchased and connected hoses to the spigots for WE 5 & 6 so both pools have water connection and there are hoses to clean both Acclimation Pens
✅Tested the upper electric line on the outside of the perimeter fence to find it in perfect working order to thwart intruder bears
✅Ran the lower electric line of the perimeter fence around all of the outside of the new enclosures and connected it up to the existing line around the old enclosures
After all of these things were completed, ABR Board Member Phil who is the Director of Animals at Zoo Knoxville and his colleague Kelly (the Assistant Director of Animal Care) came out to check out all of our work and provide a few tips on the New Enclosures. They have an immense amount of knowledge of keeping all sorts of animals safe and in their enclosures at the zoo, so we trust their expertise when it comes to cub escape thwarting! Once we tie up a few final loose ends of WE 5 & 6, we plan to request an inspection! We are still waiting on some results from the soil survey, but those are being worked on as we speak.
As we have been walking up and down and up and down and somehow up again for all of the tools and supplies needed for enclosure building, we have stumbled across a few of our non bear residents. Enjoy! ... See MoreSee Less
28 CommentsComment on Facebook
April 8, 2026 - Paint Night with Monica🎨
This week, curators have been taking advantage of the perfect spring weather to put the finishing touches on the new Wild Enclosures. We will be sharing photos later this week, but for now, the anticipation of our announcement of "officially ready for inspection" will have to build up😉.
In the meantime, we wanted to share photos from our ABR supporter paint night with artist Monica Wells Art at the end of March! We had a grand ole time chatting and painting with supporters from all around the east TN and western NC area . After only a few short hours, everyone went home with a masterpiece of the bears from ABR's 30th anniversary logo painted on the background of a beautiful Smoky Mountain sunset. We are always grateful to meet and talk with the wonderful people who support our mission, whether they have been following for years or have just heard about Appalachian Bear Rescue. Thanks to everyone for coming out to paint, and a special thanks to the Townsend Abbey for donating the space for us to get together. We have the beary best community😊 ... See MoreSee Less
20 CommentsComment on Facebook
April 6, 2026 - A Very Warm (and Fuzzy) Gift❤️
A few weeks ago, Director Greg got a call regarding the donation of a mink fur coat. Our new ABR friend, Dianne, was downsizing her home and moving to Tennessee and wanted to put her coat to good use because she won't have much use for it here in Tennessee with our warm weather (Dianne is originally from Wisconsin). She particularly wanted the neonate cubs that come to ABR to be able to use it to stay warm and cozy during their stay in the cub nursery! As many of you know, being a neonate cub without a mother bear can be a very stressful and scary time for a tiny bear cub, so we do everything in our power to make sure they feel safe and comfortable. This real fur will be a great addition to the nursery setup. Dianne understands that bear cubs are messy (and destructive) babies, and her fur coat may bear the brunt of some cub play (and scat), but she assured us that she was happy to make this donation for the use of many future cubs! We are very grateful she decided to repurpose this fur for the benefit of little cubs. We know the cubs will appreciate this generous donation. Thanks, Dianne!
The plan for this coat is to cut it up into sections and make little "fur sleeves" to put heartbeat toys in to stick into in cub caves for bear cubs to snuggle!🐻 ... See MoreSee Less
80 CommentsComment on Facebook
... See MoreSee Less
19 CommentsComment on Facebook
April 3, 2026 -🧵✨The ABR Throwback Quilt🧵✨
Get a little nostalgic with this handmade ABR throwback t-shirt quilt made by ABR supporter Samantha Barton. Samantha made and donated the quilt specifically to help raise money for our future cubs.
This beautiful quilt is crafted from throwback t-shirts featuring some of ABR's most popular designs from over the years. Each square tells a story, celebrating the bears, the memories, and the mission that means so much to our supporters.
The quilt features a cool tone theme of 12 past ABR shirts, some from a very long time ago! The border of the quilt is brown and the back is a patterned beige color. This quilt is the perfect way to celebrate our 30th Anniversary.
Whether you’ve been with us since the beginning or just discovered us, this quilt is a cozy piece of ABR history you can treasure for years to come. Quilt measures 50"x 64", the perfect size for the foot of your bed or for cozying up on the couch with your favorite drink and reading a good book!
Don’t miss your chance to own this heartfelt creation while supporting our future cubs. Click the link below to start bidding (Bidding starts at 7PM EST TONIGHT and concludes on Monday (4/6) at 7PM EST)!
⬇️⬇️⬇️
www.ebay.com/itm/287251106052
🚚Shipping available or for local pickup at our ABR Visitor Center (121 Painted Trillium Way, Townsend TN) during normal business hours. PLEASE NOTE if you want to pick up item in person, you must select that option when checking out! ... See MoreSee Less
20 CommentsComment on Facebook
March 2, 2026 - Spring Shirt Restock 🐣
This is a much awaited announcement, as we’ve been hearing. This afternoon curator Katrina went to pick up more of the 30th Anniversary green tie dye shirts, so we are officially restocked (still limited quantities)!
With this shirt, you can look as cool as Director Greg overlooking new Wild Enclosure 6! Grab yours before they run out again! appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/products/abr-30th-anniversary-t-shirt
ABR has a staff of very skilled professionals, but they’re costly to keep around 😉 All profit from our store goes directly to all of the things it takes to run ABR and get our facility ready for cubs. Thanks for your support! ... See MoreSee Less
18 CommentsComment on Facebook
April 1, 2026 - It's Electric (part 2)⚡️
No jokes over here today for April Fool's Day! Curators have been working diligently to continue checking off checklist items for the new Wild Enclosures 5 & 6. After almost two weeks of hanging thousands of insulators on the fences of both new enclosures as well as hanging thousands of feet of electric polywire, we were officially ready to test the fencing! This involves connecting the electric fence energizer box to two ground rods and, of course, our polyrope!
Once both the ground wire and hot wire were connected, the energizer box was turned on (we held our breath for this part)! Much to our joy, the fence became "hot" - really stinking hot. A few minor details to the electric fencing is still required before both enclosures are officially considered "cub climb proof" but this is a huge job almost completed! Additionally, curator Tom finished wrapping all of the forbidden trees in the new enclosures, and a ditch was dug for the water line plumbing to the new enclosure pools.
Once these enclosures are officially finished (we are SO close) AND the results from the soil sample survey are complete (this is scooting right along as well), we will be ready to be inspected so we can be officially licensed to care for bear cubs again should any need our services! Each day we get closer! ... See MoreSee Less
35 CommentsComment on Facebook