We love our bears here in the Smokies. It’s estimated there are around 15,000 in the four-state area surrounding the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and they’ve become an iconic symbol of the region.
So, it’s no wonder that of the hundreds of stories we published on The Smoky Mountain News website in 2025, it was one about relocating bears that was the most popular.
The story was written by Holly Kays, a former SMN staff writer who is now the lead writer for Smokies Life, a nonprofit that raises money to help the GSMNP…