Michael Pelton, who led groundbreaking bear research in Smokies, has died

Michael Pelton, a University of Tennessee professor who helped discover much of what's known today about Tennessee black bears, has died. He was 86.

Known to some simply as "the bear man," Pelton was driven

by a conservationist approach. He was scientifically curious, but at the same time had a deep respect for the creatures themselves. While there are around 1,900 black bears in Great Smoky Mountains National Park today, in the late 1960s, Pelton's research revealed there were only around 300, the Knoxville News Sentinel reported in 1999.

With the black bear population at a low, Pelton spearheaded research that helped us better understand the iconic animal of the Smoky Mountains, rewriting what was previously believed about bears' diet and habitat. His work in the Smokies, which began in 1968, positioned him as a leading bear expert and formed a basis of knowledge that will continue to be built upon even after his death.

Breaking new ground in bear research

When he began his research, strategies and best practices to capture, immobilize and track bears and bear data all were in their infancy. Pelton's Black Bears of the Smokies research project with UT pioneered advances across the board, helping determine the safest tranquilizers and marking the first use of the radio collar in the eastern U.S. for bear tracking.

Pelton, along with his graduate students, uncovered that black bears spent more time in trees than anyone had realized, and that they were primarily eating acorns, according to his former UT colleague Joe Clark. The research also determined the existence of the period of hyperphagia, when bears put on weight in the fall ahead of hibernation.

News Sentinel outdoors writer Morgan Simmons in 1999 described Pelton's project as "the most ambitious ever undertaken in the eastern United States."

Pelton cared deeply for his students, and his combination of storytelling skills and scientific knowledge made him a great teacher, Pelton's wife, Tamra Willis, told Knox News on Sept. 9.

"The more we learn about black bears, the more questions are raised," Pelton told the Knoxville News Sentinel ahead of his retirement in 1999. "They're certainly intelligent animals, second only to the primates, according to animal behaviorists. It's exciting to think there are things about them we'll probably never know."

The project continued after Pelton's retirement, ultimately running until 2010. As of 2018, it was considered the longest continuous study of any bear species across the globe. Pelton's colleague Clark collaborated on the bear research in the '90s and then built on it after the retirement of Pelton, whom Clark described as a giant in the field.

And Pelton's affinity for bears never dimmed. Willis told Knox News about a trip she and Pelton took with Clark and his wife to the Smokies this past May. They saw 11 bears while they were there. "They just both got as excited as tourists about seeing the bears in Cave Cove," she said. "It didn't end for them after they spent their whole careers touching and seeing and studying bears. They were still thrilled to see them."

Despite Pelton's many accomplishments, he remained modest. Although he had 129-peer-reviewed scientific publications, and was invited to speak about his research around the world, he was just as ready to present to community groups, from Boy Scout troops to nursing home residents, according to his obituary.

"He was just a special person, and he was unpretentious and humble, which I loved about him when I met him, because not everybody who does something like him is that way," Willis said. Pelton died just eight days before the couple's 32nd wedding anniversary.

Pelton was involved in numerous organizations, recognized for his research

Pelton was born in Trion, Georgia, on July 25, 1940, and grew up in Knoxville. He was a Central High School graduate. Pelton studied wildlife science at the University of Georgia before starting his role at UT. The national park called soon after, sparking the research that would come to define his career.

He helped start the International Association for Bear Research and Management and coordinated the Southern Appalachian Black Bear Study Group. He also served on boards of the Foothills Land Conservancy, Shenandoah Conservancy and Rockbridge Conservation, according to his obituary.

In 2012, the Wildlife Society named him the recipient of its top award in applied wildlife management research, the Caesar Kleberg Award. In 2016, he was named one of the 100 most influential people in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park's history.

After Pelton's retirement, he and Willis moved to a farm in Middlebrook, Virginia, where he lived until his death.

Along with his wife, Pelton is survived by his four sons, Chris, Corey, Chad and Spencer, along with their spouses, four grandchildren, and his brother, Ben. Pelton's obituary said donations can be made in his memory to the Great Smoky Mountains Conservation Association or the International Association for Bear Research and Management.

Hayden Dunbar Evans is the storyteller reporter. Email: [e-mail]. Instagram: @knoxstoryteller.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Michael Pelton, who led groundbreaking bear research in Smokies, has died