Is the Black Bear Population in the Smokies Increasing?

Back in Black: Modern technology makes it easier to share evidence of bear sightings, but is it skewing our perception?

When we moved to Tennessee and first started going to the National Park, bear sightings were rare or at least they were rare for us. We were lucky to see a bear or two each summer. In the spring and summer, you’d hear stories of bears moving out of the mountains and into surrounding communities. Maybe a black bear on the strip in Gatlinburg or found behind some home in Maryville digging through trash. But those were the exceptions. 

It seems like in recent years – both personally and through social media – bear sightings are on the rise. In the last two years going to Cades Cove and Roaring Fork Motor Nature Trail, I’ve personally seen a lot of bears. In fact, I have seen more bears in the wild in recent years than in the rest of my life combined. Last year, on one trip to the Cove alone, we spotted more than 10 bears. 

Social media and the internet is full of bear and human encounters, specifically, both in the mountains and in communities across East Tennessee. There were two reports of bears in different neighboring communities to ours last week. But that, at least, has been fairly consistent over the last decade or more. 

All these bear sightings have left me wondering if there are more bears in the Smokies and East Tennessee. Or does it just seem like it?

Bears return to the mountains

There was a time – in the days before the National Park – that bears were exceptionally rare in the Smokies. Some reports have the number as low as 50 or 60. However, there are indications that the counting method of the time was flawed. What we do have are the thoughts of people who lived in the region before the National Park and remained with a lifetime land lease after the park opened.

When researching a story on the Walker Sisters – the mountain women who lived together in the Little Greenbrier community and became famous following a Saturday Evening Post profile – I found a quote from one of the sisters about life before and after the park. Prior to the park opening, she said, they hadn’t dealt with many bears or foxes or other such creatures. But after the park opened, hunting and killing the animals was banned. So, they had to more regularly shoo bears away from the property and deal with foxes and hawks stealing their chickens. 

As the old mountain ways died off – and enjoying the protection of the national park – the bear population grew to 600 animals in the 1970s according to the Park Service. Had the population grown that much or were tracking methods improved? Maybe a bit of both. 

By the time I arrived in the Smokies that population was up considerably to about 1,600 bears. In that time, I saw less than a dozen in a decade. 

Has the bear population increased significantly since the 1990s?

My instinct would have been yes, just based on personal anecdotal evidence. We don’t live as close to the park as we used to. As a result, we don’t go as many times a year. But I am 100% seeing more bears now than at any time before. 

However, the numbers say no. Speaking with the Knoxville News Sentinel earlier this year, Dan Gibbs, black bear program coordinator for the TWRA says about 1,900 bears live in the National Park and roughly 5,500 across East Tennessee.

Yes, tthat is an increase. But after the population jumped up a thousand from the 70s to the 90s, a 300-bear uptick wouldn’t be enough to account for such a massive increase in viewing unless all those bears live in and around the Cove, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. 

Has modern technology changed our perception of the bear population in the Smokies?

While working on this story, I spoke briefly with a friend who works for the city of Gatlinburg. He said the city does track reports of bears called in to E-911. But in a time when everyone has a cell phone in their pocket, a single bear can induce dozens of calls with a single stroll across the strip. 

Certainly, carrying portable news studios with us at all times allows us to better document and share animal sightings whether in the park or beyond. It would take someone with more time and a better mind for science than I to try to quantify what that does to our perception. But I do feel like it’s got to affect it. 

What do I do if I see a bear? 

It turns out the procedures for what one does when encountering a black bear is long and contingent on a variety of scenarios. It starts with maintaining a safe distance and, if the bear is too close, slowly walking away. At the other end of the spectrum, you’ve got to fight that dang bear. In general, it is safest for you and the bear to keep a good distance away.

Have you spotted a bear in the Smokies? Let us know in the comments?