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Frank van Manen, a U.S. Geological Survey research ecologist and president of the International Association for Bear Research and Management, said it's not that the bears are becoming more aggressive. Instead, he said, bear populations are skyrocketing under state bans or limits on bear hunting.

If you haven't noticed, the number of bear warnings and campsite closings in the Smoky Mountains continues to increase. Since early spring, a new warning or closing has popped-up almost every week. In fact, two new warnings have been added just this week. Expect to see more bears this year according to bear expert.

The number of closings and warnings posted at campsites, shelters and trails in the Smokies has increased to 16. A research ecologist from the University of Tennessee has stated that visitors should expect to see more bears this year. To emphasize this point, a bear broke into a house this week - in Knoxville!

Bear spray is illegal in national parks, however, individual parks can override this law using an instrument called a 'Superintendent's Compendium.' This explains why bear spray is allowed in national parks out west, but remains illegal in Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

An interesting study was published this month showing that bears in Yosemite break into minivans more often than any other vehicle. The analysis discusses several competing hypotheses about why bears selected minivans during the study.

The Bear Lake Loop in Rocky Mountain National Park is an extremely popular destination, but you can avoid the crowds by visiting during the off season, or very early in the morning. You may even go home with some great sunrise photos.

Happy Birthday to Smokey Bear, the mascot of the U. S. Forest Service created to educate the public on the dangers of forest fires. Smokey Bear's famous message "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires" was created in 1944 by the Ad Council. It's the longest running PSA campaign in U.S. history.

According to Chris Hibbard, the answer to that question is an emphatic yes. Chris recently learned of this law from one of the Supervisory Wildlife Biologists with Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The law reads as follows...

Our hike to Odessa Lake began from the Bear Lake Trailhead in Glacier Gorge, one of most beautiful areas in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Overview of the hiking trails in the Big South Fork National Recreation Area along the Kentucky-Tennessee border. Includes Slave Falls, Sunset Overlook, Angel Falls Rapids, Yahoo Falls Loop, Bear Creek Overlook, and Split Bow Arch.

Aviemore is synonymous with Scottish winter sports, and this delightful town, which resembles as smaller version of a typical alpine ski resort, famously attracts skiers and snowboarders as soon as the first fall lands. Many of the local Aviemore holiday rentals bear this in mind and cater specifically for winter sports enthusiasts, but that's not all this delightful town located just off the A9 trunk road in Scotland has to offer.

Iceberg Lake has to be one of the most popular hikes in Glacier National Park in Montana. There's great opportunities to see bears on the hillside, you'll pass by Ptarmigan Falls and Iceberg Lake is just spectacular.

If you have been thinking about using the services of a limo hire Southampton firm for traveling in or to this largest city on the southern coast of England, it's a concept that bears further study.

If you have been thinking about using the services of a limo hire Southampton firm for traveling in or to this largest city on the southern coast of England, it's a concept that bears further study.

If you have been thinking about using the services of a limo hire Southampton firm for traveling in or to this largest city on the southern coast of England, it's a concept that bears further study.

Buxa Tiger Reserve lies in Alipurduar district of West Bengal. Its northern boundary runs along the international border with Bhutan. The Sinchula hill range lies all along the northern side of BTR and the eastern boundary touches that of the Assam state. National Highway No.31 C roughly runs along its southern boundary. It is the eastern most extension of extreme bio-diverse North-East India and represents highly endemic Indo-Malayan region. The fragile "Terai Eco-System" constitutes a part of this reserve. The Phipsu Wildlife Sanctuary of Bhutan is contiguous to the north of BTR. Manas National Park lies on east of BTR. BTR, thus, serves as international corridor for Asian elephant migration between India and Bhutan. To the south-west, the Chilapata Forests form an elephant corridor to the Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary. The reserve encompasses as many as eight forest types. The divisional headquarters is located at Alipurduar. The forest is divided into two divisions: East and West. The Himalayan griffon, beautiful nuthatch, four different varieties of hornbill and the red breasted Himalayan partridge are important birds in this reserve. Among the wild animals, clouded leopard, tiger, wild dog, pangolin and Himalayan black bear are rare. Buxa Fort is an important landmark for this reserve. This fort was captured by British-India in 1865 after the Bhutan War from Bhutan. Later this fort was used as a detention camp for Indian freedom fighters during the Indian freedom movement.

One of our prime hiking destinations for the week was a climb up 10,566-foot Avalanche Peak, located about eight miles from the park's east entrance. We put this hike at the top of our itinerary because it's one of the higher peaks in Yellowstone, and it didn't require any technical skills to reach the summit.\n

At one point the fire got so big that they parked a train - loaded with foam - just outside of town. This was to be our protection in case the wind changed direction. Later on we made the hike to spend the night at the historic Sperry Chalet.\n

really interesting