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.
We apologize for the late post today. All the bears at ABR are doing well. We've all been running in lots of directions today. We're feeding cubs, answering phones (they ring a lot), packing packages at our Visitor Center Store, and helping our partners at TWRA. We looked up and the day was gone!
Mac Bear made an appearance at the Cubby Pool this afternoon. It rained last night and all morning today. Even this afternoon it was cloudy and damp. We are grateful for the rain and cooler temperatures. We're sure the cubs are grateful too. They spent most of their day high in the treetops.
Please join Tori for Facebook Live tomorrow. She will have a cubby update for everyone. Thank you for keeping our cubs in your heart. You give them a second chance at life in the wild. ... See MoreSee Less
What a sweet picture of Mac Bear! No apologies needed for the late post. It’s not like you’re just sitting around waiting on things to do! The care of the sweet bears always comes first. I hope they enjoyed the wonderful rain as much as we did. It had been a long time for us. 🙏🏻🐻♥️x16
Appalachian Bear Rescue THANK YOU for the entire team that help to keep those rambunctious cubs fed, watered, happy and safe!
ABR Daily Update-July 22, 2024-It’s Cubby Birthday! 🎂🐻
Weather: 82F (28C) Humidity 68%, Partly Cloudy 🌤️
ABR designated January 22 as the “official” birthdate for all bears that come to our facility, as it falls roughly midway within the range of possible birthdates. Today, Patty, Pickles, Mac, Homer, Diamond, Champ, Sundae, Duke, Daisy Mae, Jellybean, Jackie Paper, Peeps, Casper, Shadow, SuBearu, and Puff Bear are six months old! 6️⃣🎉
This is a bittersweet birthday, having lost Tots Bear just a few days ago. However, it reminds us why we celebrate this day every month: every birthday is a gift, a milestone, and a miracle, not only for our cubs but for all living things.
To all our resident bears, past and present, and to bears everywhere, we wish you a Happy Birthday. And to the little ones, like Tots, who didn’t make it, we remember you. ❤️🐻
What is the most bears that have lived in one enclosure? 7 seems like a recipe for a lot of mischief in one space!
Did Tots pass?
Thank you for our daily update. Happy Birthday to all our beautiful cubs/bears past and present I hope you all have a long and healthy life. Thank you ABR for helping them get a second chance celebrate a birthday with us their Facebook family.♥️🐻🐾🎂
We hope you enjoy this video of Duke, Daisy Mae, Jellybean, and Jackie P. Bear. They were very frisky yesterday afternoon, and played hard and unfairly, as is normal for black bear cubs.
Our other twelve cubs are doing well. We’ll feature them in tomorrow’s update. We haven’t found The Gatlinburghers' missing sibling yet, but we’re still looking. SuBearu and Puff are doing well in The Recovery Center, Peeps and Company are still hard to find (but we did see them), Homer, Diamond, Champ, and Sundae still aren’t speaking to The Gatlinburgher Trio, but we expect that to change soon. Thank you for helping us help them.❤️
Glad to see little Jackie P having fun with his friends. What I wouldn’t give for even a little bit of their energy 🙏🏻🐻♥️x16
It's hard to think these robust chonkers are the same little cubs that were tucked into Easter baskets earlier this year! The cub growth rate is astounding! Jackie P may be tiny in comparison, but he looks to be holding his own. I'm still missing Tots today, but glad these cubs are living and enjoying the moment.
This is such a wonderful video. After the sadness of losing Tots this is what my heart needed. Thank you so much ❤🐻❤
We’re deeply touched by your kind messages regarding the death of Tots Bear. Over the years, a community of friends has grown around ABR's Facebook Page, one with which we can share both the joy and sadness that come with bear rescue. Thank you for loving a little bear whose short life was made better by friends she never met. 🐻❤️
There is no respite from caring for the sixteen cubs still in residence. Curators and volunteers were on hand to help make Wild Enclosure #1 more hospitable for the little bears by laying down sod. This will help reduce soil erosion on the hilly enclosure and provide a soft carpet for the cubs to trot, run, and wrestle on.
Duke, Daisy Mae, Jellybean, and Jackie P. Bear are foraging and playing as usual. When we searched through video to find out what had happened to Tots, we saw Jackie Paper approach her shortly after she'd re-injured her leg and nuzzle her for a moment. We believe Jackie and his mates know that Tots is gone, but what they feel is private and kept to themselves.
Pickles, Patty, and Mac, the Gatlinburgher Cubs, were released into Wild Enclosure #3, home of Homer, Diamond, Champ, and Sundae Bear. Although they are aware of each other, they are keeping to themselves, and the rain is encouraging them to stay in their respective trees. Eventually, we hope they'll become friends. 🐻🐻 🐻🐻 🐻🐻 🐻
Peeps, Casper, and Shadow Bear have exclusive use of Enclosure #4. We’re grateful they choose to appear a couple of times a day so we know they’re still there. We suspect our little bears aren’t showing up for our benefit and don’t care if we see them or not. But when they do emerge from the undergrowth, it means our curators don’t have to trek around the enclosure perimeter, searching for them with binoculars. 👀 🕵️
SuBearu and Puff Bear are still handling their confinement in The Recovery Center with patience. The curators introduce something new into their environment daily to keep the clever cubs occupied and distracted. We are in essence, bribing the little bears to give us more time while SuBearu’s fracture heals. So far, the bribery is working. 🐻🐻🤞
Curator Jamie, Greg Grieco, and TWRA Black Bear Support Biologist Janelle Musser set up a booth at the Tri-State Outdoors Fest in Cumberland Gap, TN. They were out spreading the Bear Wise word and advertising Appalachian Bear Rescue, explaining what we do and who we do it for.👏👏👏
What happened to Tots? I must have missed it somehow. Poor sweet baby. Thank God Jackie was k8nd to her.
Thank you for the update on our precious bears. It is always difficult for a while after losing one. I think maybe Jackie P sensed that his friend Tots might be leaving. Bears are much smarter and intuitive than we might think. I saw where at least two local TV stations ran stories about Tots. Of course, as with everything these days, there were a few snide remarks from people who seemed to think they knew better than the professionals. If anyone from ABR saw those remarks, please take them for what they are - pure nonsense! I am glad to see all current cubs are doing well. I am especially grateful to see that SuBearu and Puff are continuing to tolerate their situation well for now. I pray that SuBearu will get a good report at her next checkup. ABR, you are the best! 🙏🏻🐻♥️x16
Last night, you had a post to adopt the Gatlinburgers, but I can't find it today. Please advise.
We are so sorry to share with you that the incredibly difficult decision was made late yesterday to release Tots Bear of her pain.
Tots arrived to ABR on April 18th as an injured cub of the year. She was found alone on a trail in Big South Fork with no mother bear around. She weighed 5.42 pounds and had a broken left humerus bone, as well as broken teeth and jaw. Since that day, Tots has faced many health obstacles, never quite reaching optimal health while in our care.
Her fractured humerus bone healed very slowly after surgery, requiring two separate rounds of shock wave therapy to initiate growth and fusion of the fractured pieces. She also suffered two seizures throughout her stay, both after receiving the necessary immobilization drugs needed to conduct her medical exams. On top of all of this, she acquired an infection at her surgery site, which required weeks of rigorous antibiotics.
For a long time Tots Bear was kept alone while she healed. However we often referred to her as the “model bear patient”, always finding ways to entertain herself and make the best of her time in confinement. Eventually she was introduced to Jackie P. (another injured cub of the year) and the two were inseparable. After being released into a Wild Enclosure just two weeks ago, we thought Tots was finally in the clear. However, two days ago, curators noticed Tots Bear limping on our camera system. She had re-fractured her humerus bone at the original site, her calcium levels were low and veterinarians found another infection, this time in the bone marrow of her injured leg.
For the past 48 hours curators tended to Tots in the Hartley House, but this time around she refused to eat any foods that contained medicine. Curators tried anything and everything to encourage Tots to take her antibiotics, but to no avail. Tots Bear wasn’t being her lively self and refused to move from her spot on a dog bed in the Hartley House. So much so, that curators could no longer entice her to shift rooms in between feedings, and therefore had to enter the room with her to replace her food and untouched antibiotics. After talking with the veterinarians further at UTCVM, the impossible decision was made to relieve her of this suffering. She passed peacefully yesterday evening, surrounded by her compassionate team of veterinarians from UTCVM-University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine and our dedicated curators. We are so sorry.
Rest in peace, sweet Tots Bear. 🕊️
*We will not be hosting a Facebook Live today. Thank you for your understanding.* ... See MoreSee Less
Poor little sweetie. Thank you for giving her a chance.
Oh, I am so sorry. I know all of you put your hearts into these cubs only to lose them. My heart breaks for all, and for Jackie P losing her BFF.
Oh god, no. I suspected this was inevitable but it's never, ever easy. My daughter is a vet and she has told me that we tend to keep our sick pets alive for us, instead of for them. We need to listen to them, they will tell us when to let them go. Tots was telling you. She was ready. It still hurts like hell, but you did the right thing.
Baseball, burgers, and a sundae...that's an all-American enclosure!⚾️🍔🍨
It’s good to see Pickles, Patty and Mac outside!! Continued prayers that their sibling will be found.Hopefully they will become friends soon with Homer, Camp, Diamond and Sundae. So many little bears!! It’s hard to remember who and where everyone is. With so many little growing mouths to feed, sounds like a peanut appeal might be in the near future!!♥️🐻🐾
Happy Friday! 🐻 ... See MoreSee Less
52 CommentsComment on Facebook
They are so cute,Thank you all for the jobs you do taking care of these babies💙🩷
Well hello Curator Tori and bear friends. You sound good to me. 🐻😊
Thank you Tori!
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July 25, 2024: Where Did Today Go?
We apologize for the late post today. All the bears at ABR are doing well. We've all been running in lots of directions today. We're feeding cubs, answering phones (they ring a lot), packing packages at our Visitor Center Store, and helping our partners at TWRA. We looked up and the day was gone!
Mac Bear made an appearance at the Cubby Pool this afternoon. It rained last night and all morning today. Even this afternoon it was cloudy and damp. We are grateful for the rain and cooler temperatures. We're sure the cubs are grateful too. They spent most of their day high in the treetops.
Please join Tori for Facebook Live tomorrow. She will have a cubby update for everyone. Thank you for keeping our cubs in your heart. You give them a second chance at life in the wild. ... See MoreSee Less
30 CommentsComment on Facebook
Did they find the sibling cub?
What a sweet picture of Mac Bear! No apologies needed for the late post. It’s not like you’re just sitting around waiting on things to do! The care of the sweet bears always comes first. I hope they enjoyed the wonderful rain as much as we did. It had been a long time for us. 🙏🏻🐻♥️x16
Appalachian Bear Rescue THANK YOU for the entire team that help to keep those rambunctious cubs fed, watered, happy and safe!
View more comments
Join Greg for an update on the cubs and a discussion of how you can help bears in human-caused conflicts in our local area. ... See MoreSee Less
34 CommentsComment on Facebook
Tori’s internet is downright now.
People and businesses need to be held accountable for their actions to keep these bears safe ❤️❤️
How is SuBearu and the other bears doing?
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ABR Daily Update-July 23, 2024-A Cubby Birthday Party 🐻🥳🧐 ... See MoreSee Less
37 CommentsComment on Facebook
I'm thinking about Tots .such a sweet bear....she won't be forgotten
Happy Cubby Birthday to all of our cubbies past and present 🎁🎈🎈🐻🐻🧸🧸 we love you all❤️❤️
Thank you for this sweet video of the outside cubbies. I hope that Puff and SuBearu are also doing well 🙏🏻🐻♥️x16
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ABR Daily Update-July 22, 2024-It’s Cubby Birthday! 🎂🐻
Weather: 82F (28C) Humidity 68%, Partly Cloudy 🌤️
ABR designated January 22 as the “official” birthdate for all bears that come to our facility, as it falls roughly midway within the range of possible birthdates. Today, Patty, Pickles, Mac, Homer, Diamond, Champ, Sundae, Duke, Daisy Mae, Jellybean, Jackie Paper, Peeps, Casper, Shadow, SuBearu, and Puff Bear are six months old! 6️⃣🎉
This is a bittersweet birthday, having lost Tots Bear just a few days ago. However, it reminds us why we celebrate this day every month: every birthday is a gift, a milestone, and a miracle, not only for our cubs but for all living things.
To all our resident bears, past and present, and to bears everywhere, we wish you a Happy Birthday. And to the little ones, like Tots, who didn’t make it, we remember you. ❤️🐻
❤️Thank you for helping us help them.Please consider donating to Appalachian Bear Rescue’s Room in Your Heart Campaign:
appalachianbearrescue.org/room-in-your-heart-campaign/
🎉Our Visitor & Education Center at Trillium Cove is open! Please click on the link for more information:
appalachianbearrescue.org/contact-us/
🛑bearwise.org offers excellent information on what black bears are up to at this time of year and what to do if you hike or live in “Bear Country”.
*We post one update daily, seven days a week. ... See MoreSee Less
76 CommentsComment on Facebook
What is the most bears that have lived in one enclosure? 7 seems like a recipe for a lot of mischief in one space!
Did Tots pass?
Thank you for our daily update. Happy Birthday to all our beautiful cubs/bears past and present I hope you all have a long and healthy life. Thank you ABR for helping them get a second chance celebrate a birthday with us their Facebook family.♥️🐻🐾🎂
View more comments
ABR Daily Update-July 21, 2024 🐻🐻🐻🐻
We hope you enjoy this video of Duke, Daisy Mae, Jellybean, and Jackie P. Bear. They were very frisky yesterday afternoon, and played hard and unfairly, as is normal for black bear cubs.
Our other twelve cubs are doing well. We’ll feature them in tomorrow’s update. We haven’t found The Gatlinburghers' missing sibling yet, but we’re still looking. SuBearu and Puff are doing well in The Recovery Center, Peeps and Company are still hard to find (but we did see them), Homer, Diamond, Champ, and Sundae still aren’t speaking to The Gatlinburgher Trio, but we expect that to change soon. Thank you for helping us help them.❤️
❤️ Please consider donating to Appalachian Bear Rescue’s Room in Your Heart Campaign:
appalachianbearrescue.org/room-in-your-heart-campaign/
🎉Our Visitor & Education Center at Trillium Cove is open! Please click on the link for more information:
appalachianbearrescue.org/contact-us/
🛑bearwise.org offers excellent information on what black bears are up to at this time of year and what to do if you hike or live in “Bear Country”.
*We post one update daily, seven days a week. ... See MoreSee Less
25 CommentsComment on Facebook
Glad to see little Jackie P having fun with his friends. What I wouldn’t give for even a little bit of their energy 🙏🏻🐻♥️x16
It's hard to think these robust chonkers are the same little cubs that were tucked into Easter baskets earlier this year! The cub growth rate is astounding! Jackie P may be tiny in comparison, but he looks to be holding his own. I'm still missing Tots today, but glad these cubs are living and enjoying the moment.
This is such a wonderful video. After the sadness of losing Tots this is what my heart needed. Thank you so much ❤🐻❤
View more comments
ABR Daily Update-July 20, 2024-It goes on. 🐻❤️
Weather: 82F (28C) Humidity 66%, Cloudy, Rain 🌧️
We’re deeply touched by your kind messages regarding the death of Tots Bear. Over the years, a community of friends has grown around ABR's Facebook Page, one with which we can share both the joy and sadness that come with bear rescue. Thank you for loving a little bear whose short life was made better by friends she never met. 🐻❤️
There is no respite from caring for the sixteen cubs still in residence. Curators and volunteers were on hand to help make Wild Enclosure #1 more hospitable for the little bears by laying down sod. This will help reduce soil erosion on the hilly enclosure and provide a soft carpet for the cubs to trot, run, and wrestle on.
Duke, Daisy Mae, Jellybean, and Jackie P. Bear are foraging and playing as usual. When we searched through video to find out what had happened to Tots, we saw Jackie Paper approach her shortly after she'd re-injured her leg and nuzzle her for a moment. We believe Jackie and his mates know that Tots is gone, but what they feel is private and kept to themselves.
Pickles, Patty, and Mac, the Gatlinburgher Cubs, were released into Wild Enclosure #3, home of Homer, Diamond, Champ, and Sundae Bear. Although they are aware of each other, they are keeping to themselves, and the rain is encouraging them to stay in their respective trees. Eventually, we hope they'll become friends. 🐻🐻 🐻🐻 🐻🐻 🐻
Peeps, Casper, and Shadow Bear have exclusive use of Enclosure #4. We’re grateful they choose to appear a couple of times a day so we know they’re still there. We suspect our little bears aren’t showing up for our benefit and don’t care if we see them or not. But when they do emerge from the undergrowth, it means our curators don’t have to trek around the enclosure perimeter, searching for them with binoculars. 👀 🕵️
SuBearu and Puff Bear are still handling their confinement in The Recovery Center with patience. The curators introduce something new into their environment daily to keep the clever cubs occupied and distracted. We are in essence, bribing the little bears to give us more time while SuBearu’s fracture heals. So far, the bribery is working. 🐻🐻🤞
Curator Jamie, Greg Grieco, and TWRA Black Bear Support Biologist Janelle Musser set up a booth at the Tri-State Outdoors Fest in Cumberland Gap, TN. They were out spreading the Bear Wise word and advertising Appalachian Bear Rescue, explaining what we do and who we do it for.👏👏👏
❤️ Please consider donating to Appalachian Bear Rescue’s Room in Your Heart Campaign:
appalachianbearrescue.org/room-in-your-heart-campaign/
🎉 Our Visitor & Education Center at Trillium Cove is open! Please click on the link for more information:
appalachianbearrescue.org/contact-us/
🛑bearwise.org offers excellent information on what black bears are up to at this time of year and what to do if you hike or live in “Bear Country”.
*We post one update daily, seven days a week. ... See MoreSee Less
40 CommentsComment on Facebook
What happened to Tots? I must have missed it somehow. Poor sweet baby. Thank God Jackie was k8nd to her.
Thank you for the update on our precious bears. It is always difficult for a while after losing one. I think maybe Jackie P sensed that his friend Tots might be leaving. Bears are much smarter and intuitive than we might think. I saw where at least two local TV stations ran stories about Tots. Of course, as with everything these days, there were a few snide remarks from people who seemed to think they knew better than the professionals. If anyone from ABR saw those remarks, please take them for what they are - pure nonsense! I am glad to see all current cubs are doing well. I am especially grateful to see that SuBearu and Puff are continuing to tolerate their situation well for now. I pray that SuBearu will get a good report at her next checkup. ABR, you are the best! 🙏🏻🐻♥️x16
Last night, you had a post to adopt the Gatlinburgers, but I can't find it today. Please advise.
View more comments
ABR Daily Update-July 19, 2024-Remembering Tots❤️
We are so sorry to share with you that the incredibly difficult decision was made late yesterday to release Tots Bear of her pain.
Tots arrived to ABR on April 18th as an injured cub of the year. She was found alone on a trail in Big South Fork with no mother bear around. She weighed 5.42 pounds and had a broken left humerus bone, as well as broken teeth and jaw. Since that day, Tots has faced many health obstacles, never quite reaching optimal health while in our care.
Her fractured humerus bone healed very slowly after surgery, requiring two separate rounds of shock wave therapy to initiate growth and fusion of the fractured pieces. She also suffered two seizures throughout her stay, both after receiving the necessary immobilization drugs needed to conduct her medical exams. On top of all of this, she acquired an infection at her surgery site, which required weeks of rigorous antibiotics.
For a long time Tots Bear was kept alone while she healed. However we often referred to her as the “model bear patient”, always finding ways to entertain herself and make the best of her time in confinement. Eventually she was introduced to Jackie P. (another injured cub of the year) and the two were inseparable. After being released into a Wild Enclosure just two weeks ago, we thought Tots was finally in the clear. However, two days ago, curators noticed Tots Bear limping on our camera system. She had re-fractured her humerus bone at the original site, her calcium levels were low and veterinarians found another infection, this time in the bone marrow of her injured leg.
For the past 48 hours curators tended to Tots in the Hartley House, but this time around she refused to eat any foods that contained medicine. Curators tried anything and everything to encourage Tots to take her antibiotics, but to no avail. Tots Bear wasn’t being her lively self and refused to move from her spot on a dog bed in the Hartley House. So much so, that curators could no longer entice her to shift rooms in between feedings, and therefore had to enter the room with her to replace her food and untouched antibiotics. After talking with the veterinarians further at UTCVM, the impossible decision was made to relieve her of this suffering. She passed peacefully yesterday evening, surrounded by her compassionate team of veterinarians from UTCVM-University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine and our dedicated curators. We are so sorry.
Rest in peace, sweet Tots Bear. 🕊️
*We will not be hosting a Facebook Live today. Thank you for your understanding.* ... See MoreSee Less
625 CommentsComment on Facebook
Poor little sweetie. Thank you for giving her a chance.
Oh, I am so sorry. I know all of you put your hearts into these cubs only to lose them. My heart breaks for all, and for Jackie P losing her BFF.
Oh god, no. I suspected this was inevitable but it's never, ever easy. My daughter is a vet and she has told me that we tend to keep our sick pets alive for us, instead of for them. We need to listen to them, they will tell us when to let them go. Tots was telling you. She was ready. It still hurts like hell, but you did the right thing.
View more comments
ABR Daily Update-July 18, 2024-The Gatlinburghers Move Outside! 🐻🍔🐻🍔🐻 ... See MoreSee Less
30 CommentsComment on Facebook
Such teeny tiny brave souls. <3
Baseball, burgers, and a sundae...that's an all-American enclosure!⚾️🍔🍨
It’s good to see Pickles, Patty and Mac outside!! Continued prayers that their sibling will be found.Hopefully they will become friends soon with Homer, Camp, Diamond and Sundae. So many little bears!! It’s hard to remember who and where everyone is. With so many little growing mouths to feed, sounds like a peanut appeal might be in the near future!!♥️🐻🐾
View more comments