This bear cub was one of 33 rescued by the Appalachian Bear Rescue in 2011

   While farmers appreciated the abundant rains of 2011, the additional precipitation wreaked havoc on the food supplies needed to sustain the bear population in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. As  a result, the Appalachian Bear Rescue reports rescuing 33 bear cubs during 2011. These grim numbers represent a record number of rescues for the not-for-profit organization.

   According to Lisa Stewart, Curator of ABR, the excessive rains caused a failure of mast crops in the park. Mast is defined in two categories. Soft mast is berries, grapes, cherries and other soft fruits. Hard mast is defined as acorns, hickory nuts and chestnuts.

  As a result, bears have become desperate to find food. Naturally herbivorous, many bears have been reported eating carrion, the carcasses of dead animals. In one instance over the summer, one wayward bear broke into a Gatlinburg candy store in a desperate effort to seek out food before hibernation season.

   The ABR received numerous reports in 2011 of dead sows being found and orphaned cubs discovered nearby. The deaths of the sows have been attributed to malnourishment and, in some cases, bears have been hit by cars leaving the orphaned cubs to fend for themselves.  

   That’s when ABR comes onto the scene.

   “We get calls from police, state troopers and park rangers who know to call us when the cubs are found,” Stewart said. “Wild bears suffered a bad year in 2011. We had at least three that were hit by cars and the cubs were orphaned. In one case, the cub suffered a concussion. ”

    Fortunately, the small cub recovered and after several weeks at the bear sanctuary, he was released back into the wild.

    Stewart is a former paralegal from Mississippi who left her career behind in April 2003 to become curator and caretaker for the bears. Stewart jokes that April, 2003 was last time she had a day off. But, she doesn’t mind the demanding schedule as the care of the bears has become her top priority. Since taking the reins at ABR. Stewart has rehabilitated and reintroduced more than 100 bears back into the wild. Of the 33 taken in during 2011, 17 have since been released. The remaining 16 will be released in the spring of this year when the foliage returns and food supplies are ample.

   Several of the cubs brought into the ABR were so small that Stewart was forced to bottle feed the tiny bears. During the rehabilitation, Stewart is careful not to let the bear see her or hear a human voice. When bottle feeding the young bears she never speaks to the cub. She only mimics the sounds made by the young bears. When feeding the bears in the sanctuary, Stewart is careful to throw food over the fence from behind trees where she can remain undetected. 

   Prior to 2011, the record number of bears taken in by ABR was in 2009 when 23 abandoned cubs were taken in by agency. ABR is located on a 25 acre parcel in Townsend. The bears are quartered in a one-acre bear pen in the center of the property. The property is closed to the public for the safety of the bears. Stewart takes great pains to ensure the bears don’t receive any human contact. Such contact could result in “imprinting” in which case the bears become too comfortable around humans. In such cases imprinted bears may approach humans with disasterous results. Some imprinted animals have been known to approach hunters without   realizing the danger.  In addition, in decades past,  bears have been known to take food from humans which Stewart is quick to discourage.

   “In the past people have given food to bears and their intentions may have been good but the results have been horrible,” Stewart said. “Human food is bad for bears’ teeth. It causes decay and they eventually lose their teeth making survival in the wild difficult. Besides bears need to develop their skills to gather food in the wild and not rely on humans.

  Stewart has made numerous presentations about bears to local civic groups and events such as Wilderness Week.  One question she is frequently asked is why the park rangers don’t feed the bears when mast crops are insufficient.

  “The park has a strict policy against feeding wildlife,” Stewart said. “It causes the animals to be dependent on the humans and it would create a survival of the fittest scenario in which the larger animals, such as the bears, would get all the food and the smaller animals would get nothing.”

   Until Mother Nature can replenish the inadequate mast crop, Stewart and the ABR will continue taking in orphaned cubs. But the financial burden of caring for the young offspring is proving to be a tremendous burden. The ABR they relies primarily off donations from businesses and the private sector. Most recently, the agency received a grant for $5,000 from the Disney Corporation.  While the donation was deeply appreciated and much needed, it sustained the sanctuary for approximately one month.

  “Bears eat approximately 25,000 calories a day in the wild,” Stewart said. “They can eat up to 20 hours a day.”   

   The Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency conducts annual inspections of the sanctuary. However, the TWRA provides no funding for the ABR. The role of TWRA is to provide protection for wildlife, Over the decades, TWRA has been instrumental in protecting wild animals and bringing about changes in how animals in captivity are treated. Many tourists to the area remember a black bear named Bozo that was kept in a pen in Pigeon Forge. He became a popular attraction and was routinely fed an unhealthy diet of junk food and chocolate milk and chocolate drinks much to the delight of tourists.  Such activity is now illegal.

   The Appalachian Bear Rescue is in need of monetary donations to feed and care for the rising population of orphaned bears. Anyone who is interested in making a donation can mail donations to:    

         Appalachian Bear Rescue

        P.O. Box 364

       Townsend, TN. 37882

       Or donations can be made online at appalachianbearrescue.org.  For more information call ABR at 865-448-0143.

These two bear cubs will soon be released back into the wild.

Many locals may remember Bozo the Bear which was caged in Pigeon Forge in the 1970s. He was fed an unhealthy diet which included numerous chocolate drinks each day.