Wild Bears

I was definitely surprised by the number of bears we saw on our trip!  I also wasn't expecting to see so many cubs, but most of the bears we spotted were moms with their babies.  I will be the first to admit that these pictures aren't the greatest, and I wish I had gotten better pictures.  However, I definitely chose safety over getting the perfect shot.  These bears were all spotted in Cade's Cove from our car.  The bears were either really close such that we stayed in the car or very near the car to be safe, or they were so far away that it was a miracle we even saw them.  The bears that were close also drew a crowd of cars and people which meant that the bears typically moved fairly quickly through the area which didn't give many chances for any good shots.  Anyways, despite all of that, I am thrilled with this first picture I got!  I mean, how cute is that cub??!!?!

Here are a couple examples of how far away some of the bears were.

And just for fun, here is a picture I took with my phone of a bear spotted on the road outside of the cabin we were staying in.

Wild Deer

I have posted almost all of the pictures from my family's vacation to Tennessee back in July.  However, I do have a few posts left.  The rest of the posts are all true wildlife and scenery shots I took.  My husband and I drove through Cade's Cove almost every day, and we saw lots of deer and bears.  Here are my favorite photographs of the deer.  Check back tomorrow for all the wild bears!

Red Wolves

I think I have mentioned this before, but since I post a lot of contradictory statements when it comes to my favorite animals, I want to clarify that wolves are actually my favorite animals.  I don't know what it is about them that mesmerizes me, but I LOVE wolves!  I was SO happy to be alone watching them for a very long time.  They were fairly hard to photograph because they were so active and it was still early enough in the day that their enclosure was fairly dark in most areas, but I am very happy with the pictures I did get of them!

Tigers

Happy Caturday!  I was SO impressed by the tiger exhibits that the Knoxville Zoo has!  I spent a LONG time watching these BEAUTIFUL creatures!  

Red Panda and White-handed Gibbon

Happy Friday!  I hope you spend the weekend like these guys: eating!  Haha!  I really do love getting progression shots of animals eating!  So cute!

South White Rhinoceros

These two rhinos are sisters who have both made a huge impact by having lots of babies over a 10 year span.  Now they are living out their retirement at the Knoxville Zoo!