Appalachian Bear Rescue

6 days ago

Every Sunday, we’re introducing you to the stories behind the names of our six resident cubs—because every name at ABR has significance.

Next up: Wintergreen. 🌿🐻

Wintergreen was named after a little plant with a big presence in the Appalachian forest: spotted wintergreen (Chimaphila maculata). The genus name Chimaphila comes from the Greek words cheima (winter) and philein (to love), meaning "winter-loving" because the plant stays green through the cold months. This small wildflower is found throughout much of the eastern United States, including the forests of the Southern Appalachians.

You might walk right past this plant without ever noticing it, even when it's in bloom. It grows close to the ground, often tucked among leaves and other forest plants. But if you slow down to take a closer look, its distinctive leaves and delicate flowers reveal themselves. The leaves stay green through the winter, when much of the forest floor has gone quiet and brown—one reason it earned the name “wintergreen.” It send roots out that help it to acquire resources and send up new growth.

Another popular name for this plant is "pipsissewa," which is derived from the Muscogee people's name for the plant, "pipsisikweu," meaning "breaks into small pieces." The name refers to the plant's supposed ability to break down gallstones and kidney stones.

Spotted wintergreen has been known historically known as a symbol of resilience, even in the harshest conditions, and symbolizes persistence and survival.

Wintergreen the cub embodies the resilience of the spotted wintergreen flower.

Like her namesake, she is growing and changing beneath the shelter of the woods in the wild enclosures. Every day at ABR is another step toward being able to spread roots in the wild. ❤️🐻🌿

Check back next Sunday to meet another one of our cubs and discover the story behind their name! ... See MoreSee Less

Appalachian Bear Rescue

1 week ago

September 23, 2026:Un-welcomed Guests!

As many of you know, ABR is situated in the middle of excellent bear habitat. Wild bears are allowed to freely come and go as they please on the facility grounds and with the abundance of mast producing trees on the property it is not unusual to have some visitors as we move into the Fall. In the past week we've had visitor bears snack on everything from grapevines and dogwood berries to acorns and hickory nuts. Someone even did us a favor by excavating a yellow jacket nest! This is all normal at ABR and we are glad that our property can provide suitable wild habitat for our local bears.

However, we do not want them lingering or "inspecting" the facility buildings, vehicles, and enclosures (especially the enclosures with cubs) too closely.😉 For these situations, our curators and interns are trained and equipped to "haze" bears away with a variety of persuasive techniques when they show up in "un-welcome" areas.

This is also why we have electric fencing on our food buildings and nursery as well as on the outside of the perimeter fencing of all of the wild enclosures. These tools work 24/7 and do not require a human to be there to have the desired "shoo-ing" effect on the target bear. Additionally, being shocked by electricity is still a difficult concept for a bear to understand and they tend to have less luck out-smarting electrical hazing techniques than the standard paintballs and noise makers...at least for now!🤞🤞

Not unlike our neighbors and other Townsend residents, we have had a persistent and curious visitor bear showing interest in our bear-resistant Kodiak Products trash can and our truck bed the past couple days. He hasn't caused any damage yet, but we do not want him getting too comfortable or worse, figuring out why everything is called Bear-"Resistant" and not Bear-"Proof". Because nothing is truly ever Bear "Proof"! Ask us how we know...

Luckily, we just received our brand new Bear-ier Solutions "un-welcome" mats. These new mats are smaller and more portable/flexible than the larger ones we loan out and are able to be linked together to form a "Bear-ier" around attractants and structures to deter a bear from accessing them or damaging it. This was the perfect opportunity to try them out.

Upon receipt, Greg and Seth quickly unboxed the mats, threw away the instructions, and installed them around our empty trash can next to the vehicles at the ABR Facility. The mats are attached to very strong energizers for their size and are certain to make a bear jump out of his fur.

The ball is in the visitor bear's court now, but he has yet to make another appearance. The office camera is fixed on the mats and trash cans so we will know if he comes by to test the new product. If he is truly "smarter than the average bear" maybe just he warning sign alone will be enough!

This is all part of living in bear country. These mats are one of many humane ways to coexist and share the land while eliminating sources of human-bear conflict that ultimately leads to the bear's demise. The visitor bear is welcome to eat the acorns and hickory nuts in peace, but it's our responsibility to make sure he doesn't learn behaviors that put his life or others at risk.

Thanks to Bear-ier Solutions for the mats. We are excited to start loaning them out to resolve conflicts in our local community. If you would like to buy one you can find them on their website www.beariersolutions.com/ ... See MoreSee Less