Donate Today >>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.
Late yesterday evening, ABR staff were reminded that July 8, 2026 marked the 30th anniversary of Appalachian Bear Rescue officially receiving its first bear cub!
On July 8th, 1996 Zero Bear was moved from his lowly accommodations in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park maintenance yard to the brand new wild Enclosure 1 at ABR. Formerly known as Appalachian Bear Center, ABR was chartered in 1991, but there was a lot of work to be done before we could take care of a bear. Wild Enclosure 1 was still under construction when Zero Bear was found orphaned in April of 1991 in Sullivan County, TN weighing 8.5 pounds. Wildlife Officers from the State of Tennessee brought the cub to Great Smoky Mountains National Park to be taken care of by some park rangers and ABR's Rick Noseworthy for a few weeks until ABR facilities were ready. Finally the day came for Zero to officially become an "ABR cub" and he stayed for 3.5 months before reaching his release weight of 55lbs.
On September 20th, 1996, Zero was released back into the wild of Cherokee National Forest and became ABR's first rehab and release success story!
While Appalachian Bear Rescue has grown in so many ways since receiving our first bear cub 30 years ago, the most important parts of who we are as an organization have not changed. We provide world-class, gold-standard care to injured and orphaned bear cubs and yearlings so we can release them back into the wild as fully functional and healthy bears. We also strive to educate our community members (near and far) about how we can best co-exist with our bear neighbors.
Today we are carrying a torch that was lit 30 years ago by some folks who cared a whole lot about bear conservation and coexistence. Over those years, ABR has successfully rehabbed and released over 400 bears. We have been doing this work for 30 years and thanks to our continuously growing group of wonderfully dedicated supporters, we plan to continue helping bears for at least another 30 years to come!🐻 ... See MoreSee Less
We are so excited to announce our new Director of Education, Jaimie Matzko. Jaimie comes to us with a wealth of knowledge of the natural world, years of experience in education and outreach, and a deep passion for wildlife and the Great Outdoors.
Jaimie is originally from Ohio, but has lived in Tennessee for the past 25 years! Previously, she has guided backcountry trips all over the US (including plenty in the Smoky Mountains), has worked at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont as well as Discover Life in America! In her free time, Jaimie enjoys all things outside. She loves gardening and native plants as well as hanging with her two dogs and husband, Michael, at their home in Cosby. While she obviously loves bears, Jaimie is all about birds!
One of the three parts of ABR's mission is to increase public awareness about coexisting with black bears, and we take this part of our mission seriously. With the newest addition of Jaimie to the ABR team, we are looking forward to taking our education and outreach to the next level. She has hit the ground running this past week at multiple ABR education events!
Please join us in welcoming Jaimie and feel free to stop into our Trillium Cove Visitor Center to say hi! ... See MoreSee Less
July 2, 2026 - Salamanders and Snakes (and other random critters) with Curator Seth, Episode 1
It is a scorcher here in East Tennessee today! The forcast says it is 96 degrees (F) and it feels over 100🥵. Alas, the curators have found plenty of "indoor" tasks but looking at computer screens for much of the day leaves them a little bit antsy🐜. Curators Seth and Katrina decided to go on a small adventure around the bear facility to check on things and look for critters. To no one's suprise, not much was out and about in this sweltering heat, but they still found a few cool friends hiding in some of the "cooler places"!🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐻 ... See MoreSee Less
June 29, 2026 - Platforms are up in Wild Enclosures 5 & 6!
We've been waiting patiently for the grass in WE 5 & 6 to get strong enough to "trample" so we could put up platforms. Last week, we were finally able to get to work! With poles already put in the ground (thanks Curator Seth), and a whole lot of lumber, screws, lag bolts, washers (so many washers), and of course, cypress boards, we went full speed ahead. Although it has been over a year since the curators had put up the new platforms in WE 3 & 4, all of the tips and tricks from their previous projects came back to them like riding a bike! Of course, Curator Tom was present for mid-project inspections (which meant we did not have to worry about the final project inspections of a particularly particular construction hatted character)
We are very pleased with the final products and it almost feels surreal that these "new" Wild Enclosures are basically completely finished (we may still add a firehose hammock or two!). It is so rewarding to look at the enclosures now when we think back to the stand of woods we measured out back in July of 2025. A lot of sweat, some blood and a few tears have been put into these new enclosures, and all of it is possible because of our amazing supporters and partners!
Now, we wait for the next bear cub that may need a little help from ABR. While we never want a bear cub to have to come to us, by goodness we are ready if one does!🐻 ... See MoreSee Less
Join us on September 13, 2026 for an exclusive Pink Jeep tour of Cades Cove in their awesome new PanoramaVan! During this 3-hour tour, you'll not only get a stress free ride through the breathtaking Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but you'll be thoroughly entertained by both a Pink Jeep certified tour guide as well as ABR's very own Executive Director Greg Grieco (a former Smoky Mountain NP Park Ranger for almost a decade). Learn about the rich history of the Cove⛪, get your fill of Greg's bear stories😉, and hopefully see a wild black bear🐻!
The folks over at Smoky Mountains Pink Jeep Tours have been extremely generous with this collaboration and all of the proceeds from these tickets go straight to ABR! There are only 16 spots per tour time, so make sure to grab your tickets before they're gone!
✨A few important details: - Tours are Sunday 9/13/26 at 8am, 12pm, & 4pm - Your ticket includes your 3 hour ride as well as an exclusive Pink Jeep x ABR t-shirt and a swag bag!
June 23, 2026 - A Final Update from Ms. Prescott's 5th Grade Class❤️🐻
As many of you know, a special teacher in Illinois by the name of Ms. Prescott has been teaching her 5th grade class each year about Appalachian Bear Rescue and the importance of advocating for wildlife for the past decade. Each year her class collects can tabs and other donations for ABR. Ms. Prescott gives us an update every spring about how much money was raised and sends a picture of her current class! This year we received her email with the bittersweet news that she is retiring from teaching and is taking on a very important new role (as Grandma). She wanted to send one final note to the ABR family. We wish Ms. Prescott all the best in her next chapter of life and thank her for her decade of dedication to teaching the next generation about the importance of protecting wildlife!
From Ms. Prescott:
Dear ABR Family, What an amazing year we had fundraising for Appalachian Bear Rescue! We raised $835.00 through donations and recycling can tabs. As many of you know, this is our 10th year raising money for our precious black bear cubs and we have donated around $6000.00 over the years. It goes to show what an elementary school in the midwest and some determined 5th graders can do for our wildlife. It has been an awesome experience for all of us involved from our students, parents, community, and our ABR family across the world. Sadly, this past year will be our last year doing our ABR classroom service project. This will be my 31st year teaching and I am nearing retirement, and to top it all off, I am going to be a grandma in November. Although our fundraising will come to an end, I promise to continue teaching my students about ABR and the importance of wildlife. Thank you all for your continued support over the past 10 years, we could not have done it without you all! We love you all BEARY much!🐻❤️
With Gratitude, Ms. Prescott's 5th Grade Class Barkstall Elementary School Champaign, Illinois ... See MoreSee Less
We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support these past 48 hours. We are so excited to be an option once again for injured and orphaned bear cubs in Tennessee. While there are a few changes to how things are going to be done, just know we will continue to provide ABR cubs the best possible care at our world class facility!
ABR UPDATE: Appalachian Bear Rescue Resumes Black Bear Cub Rehabilitation in Tennessee!
The news you have all been so patiently waiting for - as of today, June 18, 2026, Appalachian Bear Rescue officially has the green light to rehabilitate injured and orphaned black bear cubs in Tennessee.🐻
It has been over a year since ABR has housed a rescued bear. Our staff has been working tirelessly to upgrade our Bear Facility to once again be able to take care of bears. With the unwavering support from the ABR community, we are once again able to provide the gold standard of care to bear cubs that need our help. Our new enclosures and updated facilities are truly world-class standard in bear rehabilitation, and none of this would be possible without YOU! All of us here at ABR are so deeply grateful for the support and encouragement we have received over the past year that has brought us to this point.
With this announcement, ABR needs your help! Being “open for business” once again is exciting, but it also means we need all the help we can get! Caring for bears requires many hands and many resources.
Here are a few ways you can support our mission: ✨Donate - This is the most straightforward way to help us help cubs! From providing the best food, access to the best veterinary care and a team of experienced staff, we want to give our bears the best! Donate HERE Today: appalachianbearrescue.org/donate-today/
✨Shop - all of the proceeds from our ABR merchandise go directly to supporting our mission of giving bear cubs a second chance at life in the wild! appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/
✨Become a member - Support the work and mission of ABR with an annual gift and gain access to special insider perks like monthly education nights and special discounts on ABR merchandise appalachianbearrescue.org/membership/... See MoreSee Less
Despite the heat and with some good news on the horizon, there are projects that curators are fervently working on to make sure Wild Enclosures 5 and 6 are ready for residents. Last week, Curator Seth placed the support poles in the ground in both WE 5 & 6 so that cub platforms can be built. While building platforms is not a terribly technical task, it still requires a good bit of preparation and planning. Curator Seth and Curator Katrina spent the afternoon drawing up plans and measurements for the new platforms so we know exactly how many pieces of lumber, screws and lagbolts we need to put on Curator Tom's shopping list for next week 😉. After drawing up the plans, Seth and Katrina spent the rest of the afternoon cutting cypress board. These 30 inch boards are going to be the tops of the cub platforms! Thanks to our good ABR friend, Michael, we think we have enough cypress to build all of the platforms in WE 5 & 6🤞
We also got a special delivery yesterday! A generous ABR supporter, dropped off 50+ rolls of old fire hose to be used for various projects around ABR! Josh, a member of Medford Volunteer Fire Department - TN reached out to us after our Facility Tours in February to inquire whether we were in need of more firehose. We gladly informed him that there is no such thing as too much firehose when it comes to bear cub rehabilitation and he generously offered to make the drive to the bear facility to drop the donated haul off! Thanks, Josh! For those of you who don't know, firehose is made of a heavy duty and extremely durable woven nylon to resist wear and tear during use by firefighters. It also seems to be very resistant to sharp bear cub claws and teeth, which make it the perfect material to use to construct enrichment items like hammocks, feeding enrichment items and cub climbing structures.
July 9, 2026 - Happy Zero Bear Day (belated)🐻🥳
Late yesterday evening, ABR staff were reminded that July 8, 2026 marked the 30th anniversary of Appalachian Bear Rescue officially receiving its first bear cub!
On July 8th, 1996 Zero Bear was moved from his lowly accommodations in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park maintenance yard to the brand new wild Enclosure 1 at ABR. Formerly known as Appalachian Bear Center, ABR was chartered in 1991, but there was a lot of work to be done before we could take care of a bear. Wild Enclosure 1 was still under construction when Zero Bear was found orphaned in April of 1991 in Sullivan County, TN weighing 8.5 pounds. Wildlife Officers from the State of Tennessee brought the cub to Great Smoky Mountains National Park to be taken care of by some park rangers and ABR's Rick Noseworthy for a few weeks until ABR facilities were ready. Finally the day came for Zero to officially become an "ABR cub" and he stayed for 3.5 months before reaching his release weight of 55lbs.
On September 20th, 1996, Zero was released back into the wild of Cherokee National Forest and became ABR's first rehab and release success story!
While Appalachian Bear Rescue has grown in so many ways since receiving our first bear cub 30 years ago, the most important parts of who we are as an organization have not changed. We provide world-class, gold-standard care to injured and orphaned bear cubs and yearlings so we can release them back into the wild as fully functional and healthy bears. We also strive to educate our community members (near and far) about how we can best co-exist with our bear neighbors.
Today we are carrying a torch that was lit 30 years ago by some folks who cared a whole lot about bear conservation and coexistence. Over those years, ABR has successfully rehabbed and released over 400 bears. We have been doing this work for 30 years and thanks to our continuously growing group of wonderfully dedicated supporters, we plan to continue helping bears for at least another 30 years to come!🐻 ... See MoreSee Less
22 CommentsComment on Facebook
July 7, 2026 - Welcome Jaimie!
We are so excited to announce our new Director of Education, Jaimie Matzko. Jaimie comes to us with a wealth of knowledge of the natural world, years of experience in education and outreach, and a deep passion for wildlife and the Great Outdoors.
Jaimie is originally from Ohio, but has lived in Tennessee for the past 25 years! Previously, she has guided backcountry trips all over the US (including plenty in the Smoky Mountains), has worked at the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont as well as Discover Life in America! In her free time, Jaimie enjoys all things outside. She loves gardening and native plants as well as hanging with her two dogs and husband, Michael, at their home in Cosby. While she obviously loves bears, Jaimie is all about birds!
One of the three parts of ABR's mission is to increase public awareness about coexisting with black bears, and we take this part of our mission seriously. With the newest addition of Jaimie to the ABR team, we are looking forward to taking our education and outreach to the next level. She has hit the ground running this past week at multiple ABR education events!
Please join us in welcoming Jaimie and feel free to stop into our Trillium Cove Visitor Center to say hi! ... See MoreSee Less
63 CommentsComment on Facebook
July 2, 2026 - Salamanders and Snakes (and other random critters) with Curator Seth, Episode 1
It is a scorcher here in East Tennessee today! The forcast says it is 96 degrees (F) and it feels over 100🥵. Alas, the curators have found plenty of "indoor" tasks but looking at computer screens for much of the day leaves them a little bit antsy🐜. Curators Seth and Katrina decided to go on a small adventure around the bear facility to check on things and look for critters. To no one's suprise, not much was out and about in this sweltering heat, but they still found a few cool friends hiding in some of the "cooler places"!🐍🐍🐍🐍🐍🐻 ... See MoreSee Less
7 CommentsComment on Facebook
June 29, 2026 - Platforms are up in Wild Enclosures 5 & 6!
We've been waiting patiently for the grass in WE 5 & 6 to get strong enough to "trample" so we could put up platforms. Last week, we were finally able to get to work! With poles already put in the ground (thanks Curator Seth), and a whole lot of lumber, screws, lag bolts, washers (so many washers), and of course, cypress boards, we went full speed ahead. Although it has been over a year since the curators had put up the new platforms in WE 3 & 4, all of the tips and tricks from their previous projects came back to them like riding a bike! Of course, Curator Tom was present for mid-project inspections (which meant we did not have to worry about the final project inspections of a particularly particular construction hatted character)
We are very pleased with the final products and it almost feels surreal that these "new" Wild Enclosures are basically completely finished (we may still add a firehose hammock or two!). It is so rewarding to look at the enclosures now when we think back to the stand of woods we measured out back in July of 2025. A lot of sweat, some blood and a few tears have been put into these new enclosures, and all of it is possible because of our amazing supporters and partners!
Now, we wait for the next bear cub that may need a little help from ABR. While we never want a bear cub to have to come to us, by goodness we are ready if one does!🐻 ... See MoreSee Less
41 CommentsComment on Facebook
June 24, 2026 - Pink Jeep X ABR Adventure!
Join us on September 13, 2026 for an exclusive Pink Jeep tour of Cades Cove in their awesome new PanoramaVan! During this 3-hour tour, you'll not only get a stress free ride through the breathtaking Great Smoky Mountains National Park, but you'll be thoroughly entertained by both a Pink Jeep certified tour guide as well as ABR's very own Executive Director Greg Grieco (a former Smoky Mountain NP Park Ranger for almost a decade). Learn about the rich history of the Cove⛪, get your fill of Greg's bear stories😉, and hopefully see a wild black bear🐻!
The folks over at Smoky Mountains Pink Jeep Tours have been extremely generous with this collaboration and all of the proceeds from these tickets go straight to ABR! There are only 16 spots per tour time, so make sure to grab your tickets before they're gone!
✨A few important details:
- Tours are Sunday 9/13/26 at 8am, 12pm, & 4pm
- Your ticket includes your 3 hour ride as well as an exclusive Pink Jeep x ABR t-shirt and a swag bag!
Grab your tickets HERE: appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/products/pink-jeep-x-abr-panorama-van-tour ... See MoreSee Less
12 CommentsComment on Facebook
June 23, 2026 - A Final Update from Ms. Prescott's 5th Grade Class❤️🐻
As many of you know, a special teacher in Illinois by the name of Ms. Prescott has been teaching her 5th grade class each year about Appalachian Bear Rescue and the importance of advocating for wildlife for the past decade. Each year her class collects can tabs and other donations for ABR. Ms. Prescott gives us an update every spring about how much money was raised and sends a picture of her current class! This year we received her email with the bittersweet news that she is retiring from teaching and is taking on a very important new role (as Grandma). She wanted to send one final note to the ABR family. We wish Ms. Prescott all the best in her next chapter of life and thank her for her decade of dedication to teaching the next generation about the importance of protecting wildlife!
From Ms. Prescott:
Dear ABR Family,
What an amazing year we had fundraising for Appalachian Bear Rescue! We raised $835.00 through donations and recycling can tabs. As many of you know, this is our 10th year raising money for our precious black bear cubs and we have donated around $6000.00 over the years. It goes to show what an elementary school in the midwest and some determined 5th graders can do for our wildlife. It has been an awesome experience for all of us involved from our students, parents, community, and our ABR family across the world. Sadly, this past year will be our last year doing our ABR classroom service project. This will be my 31st year teaching and I am nearing retirement, and to top it all off, I am going to be a grandma in November. Although our fundraising will come to an end, I promise to continue teaching my students about ABR and the importance of wildlife. Thank you all for your continued support over the past 10 years, we could not have done it without you all! We love you all BEARY much!🐻❤️
With Gratitude,
Ms. Prescott's 5th Grade Class
Barkstall Elementary School
Champaign, Illinois ... See MoreSee Less
41 CommentsComment on Facebook
June 20, 2026 - Our hearts are so full💛
We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support these past 48 hours. We are so excited to be an option once again for injured and orphaned bear cubs in Tennessee. While there are a few changes to how things are going to be done, just know we will continue to provide ABR cubs the best possible care at our world class facility!
#bears #blackbear #wildlife ... See MoreSee Less
72 CommentsComment on Facebook
ABR UPDATE: Appalachian Bear Rescue Resumes Black Bear Cub Rehabilitation in Tennessee!
The news you have all been so patiently waiting for - as of today, June 18, 2026, Appalachian Bear Rescue officially has the green light to rehabilitate injured and orphaned black bear cubs in Tennessee.🐻
It has been over a year since ABR has housed a rescued bear. Our staff has been working tirelessly to upgrade our Bear Facility to once again be able to take care of bears. With the unwavering support from the ABR community, we are once again able to provide the gold standard of care to bear cubs that need our help. Our new enclosures and updated facilities are truly world-class standard in bear rehabilitation, and none of this would be possible without YOU! All of us here at ABR are so deeply grateful for the support and encouragement we have received over the past year that has brought us to this point.
With this announcement, ABR needs your help! Being “open for business” once again is exciting, but it also means we need all the help we can get! Caring for bears requires many hands and many resources.
Here are a few ways you can support our mission:
✨Donate - This is the most straightforward way to help us help cubs! From providing the best food, access to the best veterinary care and a team of experienced staff, we want to give our bears the best!
Donate HERE Today: appalachianbearrescue.org/donate-today/
✨Shop - all of the proceeds from our ABR merchandise go directly to supporting our mission of giving bear cubs a second chance at life in the wild!
appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/
✨Become a member - Support the work and mission of ABR with an annual gift and gain access to special insider perks like monthly education nights and special discounts on ABR merchandise
appalachianbearrescue.org/membership/ ... See MoreSee Less
Call Now
411 CommentsComment on Facebook
June 12, 2026 - Building Back "Bearer"
Despite the heat and with some good news on the horizon, there are projects that curators are fervently working on to make sure Wild Enclosures 5 and 6 are ready for residents. Last week, Curator Seth placed the support poles in the ground in both WE 5 & 6 so that cub platforms can be built. While building platforms is not a terribly technical task, it still requires a good bit of preparation and planning. Curator Seth and Curator Katrina spent the afternoon drawing up plans and measurements for the new platforms so we know exactly how many pieces of lumber, screws and lagbolts we need to put on Curator Tom's shopping list for next week 😉. After drawing up the plans, Seth and Katrina spent the rest of the afternoon cutting cypress board. These 30 inch boards are going to be the tops of the cub platforms! Thanks to our good ABR friend, Michael, we think we have enough cypress to build all of the platforms in WE 5 & 6🤞
We also got a special delivery yesterday! A generous ABR supporter, dropped off 50+ rolls of old fire hose to be used for various projects around ABR! Josh, a member of Medford Volunteer Fire Department - TN reached out to us after our Facility Tours in February to inquire whether we were in need of more firehose. We gladly informed him that there is no such thing as too much firehose when it comes to bear cub rehabilitation and he generously offered to make the drive to the bear facility to drop the donated haul off! Thanks, Josh! For those of you who don't know, firehose is made of a heavy duty and extremely durable woven nylon to resist wear and tear during use by firefighters. It also seems to be very resistant to sharp bear cub claws and teeth, which make it the perfect material to use to construct enrichment items like hammocks, feeding enrichment items and cub climbing structures.
In other exciting news, we've restocked our 30th Anniversary mugs and bowls this week. Grab yours here: appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/products/handmade-pottery-mug-in-blue-30th-anniversary-green ... See MoreSee Less
26 CommentsComment on Facebook