Cades Cove and the rest of the national park serve as a sanctuary for the black bears of the Southern Appalachians.
The estimated 1,500 black bears that live in the park are still hunted, however, with cameras — furiously and sometimes fatally by millions of visitors eager to capture the moment.
“Of course, people come here to see bears, and we do want to provide that opportunity,” national park spokeswoman Dana Soehn said.
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![black bear]({"jaw_blog-16_9-small":{"file":"https:\/\/www.thegreatsmokies.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/black-bear-170x95.jpg","width":170},"jaw_blog-16_9-middle":{"file":"https:\/\/www.thegreatsmokies.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/black-bear-270x152.jpg","width":270},"jaw_blog-16_9":{"file":"https:\/\/www.thegreatsmokies.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/black-bear-475x267.jpg","width":475}})
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