Our Bears - Hickory

On October 3rd, 2001 the Appalachian Bear Center received a call from Bill Stiver of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. He told us that he was assisting the State in capturing several bear cubs.

The cubs were on the edge of Gatlinburg and hadn't been seen with their mother in several days. It was feared that the mother had been killed during the legal bear hunt that had just concluded. Worse, it was feared that if the cubs were not moved soon, they would end up as nuisance bears.

The first cub was caught and brought to ABC on October 5th. Upon arrival at the Center, a basic physical was done (under anesthesia, of course!) and the cub later nicknamed Hickory weighed in at 40 pounds! Normally we release cubs at 50 pounds, so this one was obviously very healthy. He was placed in one of our pens while the State and the Park Service continued to try and catch his siblings. Six days later Hickory's brother was caught. This cub weighed 47 pounds, so the decision was made to release them both together.

We took both bears to the Tellico Wildlife Management Area. Here the cubs are assured a healthy home far away from humans and the hazards they bring.