Momma Black Bears With Cubs - Smoky Mountains

One spring evening as it was getting dark, we took a drive through the Cades Cove section and turned onto Rich Mountain Road where we spotted two bear families. The first momma bear had 4 cubs and she was a little irritated that we were slowly driving by and stopping to watch them, they were very close to the road. The babies were playing in the tall brush and hiding behind a tree and behind their mom. At times you could see their little heads and ears sticking up, it was so cute. A few minutes later we were driving along and saw the second momma bear down on the side of a hill. Her two cubs looked adorable exploring a tall tree as she watched them and us from below. During the excitement I turned everything on my camera to auto hoping to catch some great shots and quickly attached my zoom lens. While I feel like I did get some interesting shots, they could have been sharper. I have only seen bears in the wild a few times and I have not been this close to them before.