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.
You all have heard us say time and time again that "garbage kills bears" but usually we are speaking metaphorically. Unfortunately today, garbage literally has resulted in a deceased cub in a neighborhood in Sevier County, outside of Gatlinburg city limits.
It is with heavy hearts that we share this extremely tragic story that was sent to us today by a local supporter. A mother bear pulled an unsecured trash receptable onto her cub, resulting in its death. This mother bear had likely been in the area because she had been able to access human food in these trash bins.
It is important that we are not only using bear resistant containers in our communities but that we are using them properly. This cub's mortality was completely preventable and would not have happened if the bear resistant trash receptable had been properly secured to the ground. However, the bigger picture is that this bear family was poking around these trash receptacles because they most likely have received food rewards from unsecured trash in the past. We don't want bears to ever get food from trash because it so often ultimately leads to a bear's death whether directly like in this case or indirectly through a bear's loss of fear of humans. In human-bear conflict situations, the bear is almost always the "loser".
There are no ordinances outside of Gatlinburg city limits that require bear resistant trash containers or prohibit the feeding of bears, purposefully or otherwise.
As members of the Smokies BearWise Taskforce, we do as much as we can to raise awareness of these issues through education and outreach and our communities are making steps in the right direction to make the places we live safer for bears. However, preventable bear deaths like this one will continue to happen until enforceable laws are passed at local and state levels that protect our black bears and that hold humans accountable.
Let's be better NeighBears to the wildlife that shares our home!
For more information on how you can keep bears wild and safe, visit: 🐻https://www.gatlinburg.com/listing/smokies-bearwise/5044/ 🐻www.bearwise.org ... See MoreSee Less
Join us on September 13, 2026 for an exclusive Pink Jeep Tours of Cades Cove in their awesome new PanoramaVan!
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).
👕Get an exclusive Pink Jeep x ABR t-shirt and a swag bag!! ⛪ Learn about the rich history of Cades Cove. 😉Hear Greg's thrilling bear stories. 🐻Maybe even spot a wild black bear!
The best part? All proceeds from these tickets go directly to supporting ABR's mission! ✨
Tickets are selling out fast, so don't miss your chance to experience the breathtaking beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park like never before.
Cades Cove Pink Jeep X ABR Adventure in the PanoramaVan 📍Departs from ABR Visitor Center at Trillium Cove in Townsend 🗓️Sunday, September 13th: 3 times available 🕗8am: 10 spots available 🕛12pm: 9 spots available 🕓4pm: 12 spots available
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!
🛑WARNING: Graphic image, proceed with caution...
Monday, July 13, 2026: Garbage Kills Bears
You all have heard us say time and time again that "garbage kills bears" but usually we are speaking metaphorically. Unfortunately today, garbage literally has resulted in a deceased cub in a neighborhood in Sevier County, outside of Gatlinburg city limits.
It is with heavy hearts that we share this extremely tragic story that was sent to us today by a local supporter. A mother bear pulled an unsecured trash receptable onto her cub, resulting in its death. This mother bear had likely been in the area because she had been able to access human food in these trash bins.
It is important that we are not only using bear resistant containers in our communities but that we are using them properly. This cub's mortality was completely preventable and would not have happened if the bear resistant trash receptable had been properly secured to the ground. However, the bigger picture is that this bear family was poking around these trash receptacles because they most likely have received food rewards from unsecured trash in the past. We don't want bears to ever get food from trash because it so often ultimately leads to a bear's death whether directly like in this case or indirectly through a bear's loss of fear of humans. In human-bear conflict situations, the bear is almost always the "loser".
There are no ordinances outside of Gatlinburg city limits that require bear resistant trash containers or prohibit the feeding of bears, purposefully or otherwise.
As members of the Smokies BearWise Taskforce, we do as much as we can to raise awareness of these issues through education and outreach and our communities are making steps in the right direction to make the places we live safer for bears. However, preventable bear deaths like this one will continue to happen until enforceable laws are passed at local and state levels that protect our black bears and that hold humans accountable.
Let's be better NeighBears to the wildlife that shares our home!
For more information on how you can keep bears wild and safe, visit:
🐻https://www.gatlinburg.com/listing/smokies-bearwise/5044/
🐻www.bearwise.org ... See MoreSee Less
342 CommentsComment on Facebook
Get ready for an unforgettable adventure! 🚙🌄
Join us on September 13, 2026 for an exclusive Pink Jeep Tours of Cades Cove in their awesome new PanoramaVan!
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).
👕Get an exclusive Pink Jeep x ABR t-shirt and a swag bag!!
⛪ Learn about the rich history of Cades Cove.
😉Hear Greg's thrilling bear stories.
🐻Maybe even spot a wild black bear!
The best part? All proceeds from these tickets go directly to supporting ABR's mission! ✨
Tickets are selling out fast, so don't miss your chance to experience the breathtaking beauty of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park like never before.
Cades Cove Pink Jeep X ABR Adventure in the PanoramaVan
📍Departs from ABR Visitor Center at Trillium Cove in Townsend
🗓️Sunday, September 13th: 3 times available
🕗8am: 10 spots available
🕛12pm: 9 spots available
🕓4pm: 12 spots available
Grab your tickets today!
🎟️ appalachian-bear-rescue.myshopify.com/products/pink-jeep-x-abr-panorama-van-tour ... See MoreSee Less
12 CommentsComment on Facebook
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
27 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
64 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
42 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