White-tailed deer, black bears, coyotes, turkeys, and other wildlife are frequently spotted in the open valley of Cades Cove. There are 3 bears in the last photograph. That sighting caused a bear jam (cars stopping to view the bears).
Cades Cove, Great Smokey Mts 4/21/2024Cades Cove, Great Smokey Mts 4/21/2024Cades Cove, Great Smokey Mts 4/21/2024Cades Cove, Great Smokey Mts 4/21/2024Cades Cove, Great Smokey Mts 4/21/2024Horse (Equus ferus caballus), Cades Cove, Great Smokey Mts 4/21/2024White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), Cades Cove, Great Smokey Mts 4/21/2024American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), Cades Cove, Great Smokey Mts 4/21/2024American Black Bear (Ursus americanus americanus), Cades Cove, Great Smokey Mts 4/21/2024
A bear did come very close to us in Gatlinburg days later. I managed to catch a photo of it that I’ll post on June 6. The bears at Cades Cove were at a proper safe distance. The urban bear was way too close. Unfortunately, bears that get used to being close to humans are often killed. The bear we saw in town was most likely looking for human food.
Although we don’t have free-living bears in Germany, I’m aware of these problems. The ones we have in our zoos, however, usually hide in their dens during the day and only come out at night …
Sherry: Thanks for sharing the Great Smoky Mountains this past week or so. Ive lived in East Tennessee for 17 years now and have never gotten down there! ~Willy
Sherry Felix - port4u 
I do like these wildlife in context shots.
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Thanks Derrick. I feel so fortunate to have been there.
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Nice shots! What a pity you didn’t get closer to the bears!
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A bear did come very close to us in Gatlinburg days later. I managed to catch a photo of it that I’ll post on June 6. The bears at Cades Cove were at a proper safe distance. The urban bear was way too close. Unfortunately, bears that get used to being close to humans are often killed. The bear we saw in town was most likely looking for human food.
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Although we don’t have free-living bears in Germany, I’m aware of these problems. The ones we have in our zoos, however, usually hide in their dens during the day and only come out at night …
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Great photos, I love the horses and the deer : )
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Thanks Eunice.
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Sherry: Thanks for sharing the Great Smoky Mountains this past week or so. Ive lived in East Tennessee for 17 years now and have never gotten down there! ~Willy
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I hope you do get to visit the Smokys it is lovely there. 🙂
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