TENNESSEE - Tennessee residents enjoy witnessing bears as one of their state wildlife species, with residents seeing hundreds of wild black bears roaming across public and private lands throughout Tennessee and Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
Between 5,500-6,000 Bears Reside Within The Tennessee Borders
According to TWRA estimates, between 5,500-6,000 bears reside within our borders with populations being highest at Cherokee National Forest and Great Smoky Mountains National Park where bears serve as major attractions for visitors and are also managed federally as major visitor draws. Within these federally managed environments, people learn how to coexist while helping keep these magnificent beasts wild by using bear-proof garbage cans or only filling bird feeders during winter months.
TWRA monitors black bear population trends across the state through various methods, including tooth collection and bait station surveys. Bears consume an assortment of foods throughout the year such as berries, fruits, nuts, insects, roots grasses rodents and carrion; fall offers particularly abundant supplies of acorns - which often become habituated to human food sources that could potentially become sources of conflict with these animals.
Black bears (Ursus americanus) typically sport a straight, brown snout in the southeast region; however, cinnamon, blond and rust colors have also been observed throughout North America. Grizzly bears (Ursus arctos horribilis) tend to be larger than their counterparts with an obvious shoulder hump - making the Smokies an ideal location to observe both types of bears at once; most active half an hour before sunrise with resting sessions throughout the day before retiring for sleep in another hour or two after sunset.
