Tag Archives: nature

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is again teaming up with the Balsam Mountain Trust for a special program on Birds of Prey at the Oconaluftee Multipurpose Room. Michael Skinner, executive director of the Balsam Mountain Trust, will conduct an hour-long Birds of Prey program beginning at 11 a.m. on Friday, June 2, 2017. This program will provide visitors with an ...

In response to numerous calls from concerned citizens regarding sightings of black bear cubs seen alone, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is issuing a reminder to residents and visitors that a cub that is alone might be that way for a good reason. A mother bear, otherwise known as a sow, typically gives birth to as many as four cubs while ...

The 27th Annual Wilderness Wildlife Week begins Tuesday in Pigeon Forge, offering a variety of workshops, lectures, seminars, concerts, hikes and other activities designed to introduce or reacquaint participants of all ages with the great outdoors. Featuring more than 220 free sessions spanning five days, Pigeon Forge’s award-winning Wilderness Wildlife Week is set for May 9-13, 2017. The event is ...

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is assisting wildlife biologists at Tennessee State University in research to determine the distribution of pygmy rattlesnakes in Tennessee. The pygmy rattlesnake (Sistrurus miliarius) is listed as a threatened species in Tennessee and the research will help in conservation efforts to preserve the species in the state. Native to Tennessee, pygmy rattlesnakes are predators that ...

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency will host the 2017 Becoming an Outdoors Woman (BOW) workshop June 2-4, 2017 in Crossville at the Clyde M. York 4-H Center. The relaxed atmosphere of the BOW workshop is aimed at women, and an opportunity for those 18 or older to learn outdoor skills usually associated with hunting and fishing. However, the workshop provides ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park officials have announced the dates for synchronous firefly viewing in Elkmont. Shuttle service to the viewing area will be provided on Tuesday, May 30 through Tuesday, June 6, 2017. All visitors wishing to view the synchronous fireflies at Elkmont must have a parking pass distributed through the lottery system at www.recreation.gov. Every year in late ...

The Pigeon Forge attraction Alcatraz East will host a new temporary exhibit focused on illegal wildlife trafficking. When a Minnesota-based dentist paid $54,000 to trophy hunt in Zimbabwe in 2015 with a professional guide, he unknowingly was about to kill the beloved and iconic lion – Cecil. The images from that hunt went viral and although the dentist’s actions were ...

Ripley’s Aquarium of the Smokies is celebrating the birth of its 3rd and 4th African Black-Footed Baby Penguin on World Penguin Day, Tuesday, April 25, 2017. “The new baby brother penguins are Benny Hill born on February 17 weighing in at 52 grams and Falkor born on February 21 weighing in at 62 grams. The proud parents are Maggie and ...

Great Smoky Mountains National Park is hosting a volunteer workday at the Mountain Farm Museum on Tuesday April 25, 2017. The park received a $5,000 grant from the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area to create a modified style of fence to help protect the gardens from elk that inhabit the area regularly. “Since the elk have returned, the corn field ...

Each spring when the mountains turn green, Gatlinburg celebrates “Going Green” in a big way during the annual Gatlinburg Earth Week Celebration. The week-long celebration running Monday, April 17 to Saturday, April 21, 2017, presented by Hilton Garden Inn Gatlinburg, features a daily event designed to share easy green practices through games, crafts and music, opportunities to get outside and ...