Great Smoky Mountains National Park Podcasts & Blog » Black Bear http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog Enjoy the Smokies Courtesy of the Great Smoky Mountains Association! Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:26:16 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9 en hourly 1 Mt. Le Conte Llama Train http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/mt-le-conte-llama-train/ http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/mt-le-conte-llama-train/#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 12:26:32 +0000 admin http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/?p=1772 Le Conte Llamas at Grotto Falls   Hike up Mt. Le Conte with our special guest video blogger Walter Wuthmann and the famous llamas that keep Le Conte Lodge stocked with supplies. You won’t believe what the llamas have for lunch up at the top! Click here to find out!

Closed captioning is available for this video by clicking the caption button in the lower right-hand corner of the video controls. ]]> http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/mt-le-conte-llama-train/feed/ 12 Hike the Smokies Challenge: Day Hiking & Wildlife http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/hike-the-smokies-challenge-day-hiking-wildlife/ http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/hike-the-smokies-challenge-day-hiking-wildlife/#comments Fri, 02 Jul 2010 16:01:06 +0000 admin http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/?p=1752 Day Hiking & Wildlife   The next video has been posted on the Hike the Smokies Challenge page. This new video is about day hiking and wildlife, specifically how to avoid dangerous encounters with bears. Check it out!

Closed captioning is available for this video by clicking the caption button in the lower right-hand corner of the video controls. ]]> http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/hike-the-smokies-challenge-day-hiking-wildlife/feed/ 0 Mama Bear and Three Cubs http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/mama-bear-and-three-cubs/ http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/mama-bear-and-three-cubs/#comments Wed, 16 Jun 2010 15:37:55 +0000 admin http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/?p=1726 Mama bear and cubs   Last week, I had the privilege of watching a mother bear and her cubs feeding and playing across the field in Cades Cove, entertaining a gathering of Cove visitors. With their considerable distance from the loop road, the bears seemed hardly aware of our presence and carried about their business comfortably–the large mama bear feeding and keeping watch while the cubs climbed in and out of trees and grazed amongst the tall grass. Enjoy!!!
]]> http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/mama-bear-and-three-cubs/feed/ 3 What Bears Do… http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/what-bears-do/ http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/what-bears-do/#comments Fri, 07 May 2010 19:07:39 +0000 admin http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/?p=1686 Black bear   So many of you are sharing your great bear pictures with us on our Facebook page! Well, here’s a short clip I captured while driving through the park this week. This bear is doing what they always seem to be doing when I see them–EATING. The bear was leisurely grazing amongst the ferns and may-apples in the woods near the road. But when it got more interested in sampling the plants right next to the road (and quite close to our little group of bear watchers), picture time was over!

By the way, the video camera is zoomed way in for this. Always keep a safe distance from bears. Click here to share the exciting experience of bear watching in the Smokies!

]]> http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/what-bears-do/feed/ 0 Wild Bear Wanders Onto Film Set Unexpectedly http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/wild-bear-wanders-onto-film-set-unexpectedly/ http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/wild-bear-wanders-onto-film-set-unexpectedly/#comments Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:33:34 +0000 admin http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/?p=1491 LIVE BEAR on LIVE SHOW   Students and teachers can now enjoy a fun, educational virtual field trip to the Smokies. While filming this in-depth educational program in the park, a wild bear surprised everyone by visiting the film set. Click here or on the photo to see what happened when the bear tried to steal the show. ]]> http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/wild-bear-wanders-onto-film-set-unexpectedly/feed/ 1 Bears Eat Trees? http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/bears-eat-trees/ http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/bears-eat-trees/#comments Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:47:24 +0000 admin http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/?p=1450 Bear Chewing at tree   Not exactly, but you’d be surprised at how creative bears can be when searching for food. Click here or on the photo to see how these bears tear apart a fallen tree to get to the goodies inside!

Closed captioning is available for this video by clicking the caption button in the lower right-hand corner of the video controls. ]]> http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/bears-eat-trees/feed/ 1 GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK Cades Cove Auto Tour Part 1 http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/cades-cove-auto-tour-part-1/ http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/cades-cove-auto-tour-part-1/#comments Fri, 21 Aug 2009 20:17:26 +0000 admin http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/?p=935 John Oliver Cabin   Ever hear of a “stranger room”? Do you know how a spring house works? Come along with Elizabeth and Jill as they explore Cades Cove, one of the most visited places in all the National Parks. Click here or on the photo to view the video.

To see the complete three part Auto Tour of Cades Cove, click here.

Closed captioning is available for this video by clicking the caption button in the lower right-hand corner of the video controls. ]]> http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/cades-cove-auto-tour-part-1/feed/ 1 GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK Bear Jam! http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/bear-jam/ http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/bear-jam/#comments Tue, 25 Nov 2008 12:57:27 +0000 admin http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/?p=39 Mari and a hundred of her closest friends see a bear! Check it out.
Bear

]]> http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/bear-jam/feed/ 0 GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK Bears Gotta Be Careful Too! http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/bears-gotta-be-careful-too/ http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/bears-gotta-be-careful-too/#comments Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:42:26 +0000 admin http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/?p=386 This is a picture taken by Ann Froschauer of a bear being careful not to fall into the water as he hops on rocks. Ann spotted the bear while hiking with Missy Kane and the Friends of the Smokies on Old Sugarlands Trail.
Bear on Rocks

]]> http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/bears-gotta-be-careful-too/feed/ 3 GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK Unsuccessful Bear Trapping and Other News http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/unsuccessful-bear-trapping-and-other-news/ http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/unsuccessful-bear-trapping-and-other-news/#comments Fri, 11 Jul 2008 14:30:03 +0000 admin http://www.thegreatsmokymountains.org/blog/?p=14 Smoky Mountain black bears are pretty active in July, and the national park’s really awesome wildlife management team has been kind enough to let me tag along with them: they even invited me to meet them at the trailhead (undisclosed trail) at 5:30 a.m. this morning to go check a bear trap, which they’d set in the hopes of catching a bear that’s been hanging around humans a little too much for their liking.

So I got up at 4:20 a.m, stumbled around and grabbed my (NEW! High Definition!) video camera, a powerbar, and some coffee, and went zipping up into the mountains. As you probably figured out if you read the title of this post, the trap was empty. But the view driving back down Little River Road to park headquarters was definitely worth getting up early for.

Keep checking back for bear footage. I promise there will be some, someday.  In the meantime, click the photo below to enjoy the vista (filmed in high def, just like National Geographic!), accompanied by guitar music from Bill Mize.

smokies

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