Smoky Mountain Field School

What are bears doing in August?

Bears have many ways to stay cool during hot summer days. By August, most cubs are weaned. Bears feast on ripening berries and may travel great distances to dependable food sources. Bears decipher complex messages left in the scents of other bears.

Learn more about...
• what happens after cubs are weaned
• which food is important for bears in August
• how bears are influenced by social signals
• how a bad food year impacts a bear's travel

Find the answers here ➡ https://bearwise.org/what-bears-do-in-august/

Thanks for doing your part to be BearWise and keep bears wild!

Tickets - 2026 Great Smoky Mountain Hot Air Balloon Festival - Eventeny July 07, 2026 - Join us this August for a summertime spectacle, when professional balloonist light up the evening sky with a beautiful balloon glow and spectacular tethered rides. The sky will be filled with a spectrum of color like never before, against a backdrop of a breathtaking Tennessee Smoky....

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It's almost breeding season for one of the Smokies' most remarkable residents.

The eastern hellbender, North America's largest salamander, faces incredible challenges each year. In a single season, our streams can shift from drought conditions to raging floodwaters. Despite these extremes, hellbenders begin establishing territories, selecting nest sites, and breeding each summer in streams throughout the Smokies.

Male hellbenders build nests beneath large rocks, where they guard developing eggs until they hatch. That's why one of the easiest ways you can help these remarkable salamanders is by leaving rocks exactly where you find them. Moving a single rock could unknowingly destroy a nest or expose vulnerable eggs.
Whether you're wading in a stream or exploring the riverbank, help keep the next generation of hellbenders safe by letting nature stay just as you found it. Every rock has a purpose.

Learn more about the Smokies amphibians: https://www.nps.gov/grsm/learn/nature/amphibians.htm

NPS Photo of an eastern hellbender guarding a nest.