TheAppalachian Bear Rescue has welcomed its first rescue bear cub 18 months after the Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency announced it would stop sending black bear cubs to the facility.
On July 28, the rescue ended its year-and-a-half-long hiatus on taking in bear cubs with the arrival of Hemlock, a male cub that had been rescued to by a TWRA officer, according to a news release.
Hemlock was spotted alone at a Gatlinburg residence for two weeks before he was rescued; the status of his mother is unknown. When he arrived at ABR he was severely underweight, weighing less than half of what a healthy black bear cub should weigh in late July.
Following Hemlock's rescue, he was taken to the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine for a full
examination, and has started standard deworming treatments. He is now being cared for inside ABR's Hartley House until he regains his strength, then Hemlock will have access to two indoor rehabilitation rooms and an outdoor pen.
Hemlock will eventually be moved to a large outdoor enclosure that is designed to prepare bears for successful release back into the wild.
Why didn't ABR take in bear cubs for 18 months?
In May 2025 the TWRA announced it would stop sending black bear rescues to the facility following the deaths of 16 bears there between 2023 and 2024. All 16 bears that died at the Townsend facility were either euthanized or died from pneumonia.
Following a pause of more than year - during which ABR upgraded its facility - the TWRA cleared the rescue to once again rehab orphaned bear cubs.
The state provided the ABR with a list of demands it would need to meet in order to accept bear cubs again: including limiting the number of bears to six per acre; only taking bears from Tennessee, unless they were from Great Smoky Mountains National Park or Big South Fork National Recreation Area; releasing rehabbed cubs individually rather than in groups, and enhancing the rescue's sanitation system.
To meet the TWRA's demands, ABR rebuilt enclosures, upgraded water systems, made other safety improvements and had an outside agency test its soil for parasites.
"It has been just over a year and a half since bears were last housed at the ABR facility. Welcoming Hemlock Bear into our care is a testament to the resilience of our staff, board members, volunteers and supporters,” ABR Executive Director Greg Grieco said in the news release.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Appalachian Bear Rescue welcomes first bear cub after 18-month pause
