Without a doubt the most famous inhabitant of the Great Smoky Mountains is the Black Bear.  It’s estimated that roughly 1,800 inhabit the park. Black bears average 200 to 400 pounds in weight and can reach six feet in length. Among the best places to see black bears in the Smoky Mountains and are in open areas of the park such as Cades Cove and Cataloochee but they can truly appear anywhere at anytime. Just keep your eyes open and never approach or feed a bear and always use caution if you encounter one during your visit.

These bears are very powerful and extremely intelligent and they feed almost entirely on food such as berries, seeds, acorns and insects. However, they can become accustomed to human food if they are exposed to it and can potentially become a serious nuisance t to hikers or campers who don’t take the proper precautions.

Black bears do not become dormant in winter and they can be awakened. In the fall of the year they will go into a deep sleep in places such as a hollow tree or cave. By January or February a mother bear will give birth to usually 1-4 cubs while still asleep and later in March she will awaken to the spring season and new cubs!

The bear cub photo in this post was taken alongside the Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail. The two young cubs were just learning to climb trees as their mother foraged for food nearby.