Cherokee Bear Zoo — Attraction in Yellowhill Community

First off, I saw many of the negative or less than best reviews about this place before we visited, yet still decided to visit. No one wants to see any animal confined. That said, how do we get the younger generations to develop a love for non domesticated animals, if they never get to experience them through zoos, circuses, exhibits like the one here, ect. I remember watching "Flipper" reruns on TV as a child, but it wasn't till I saw a dolphin at Sea World, in person, before I really understood dolphins were so much more... It's the same situation with the animals at the Cherokee Bear Zoo, in my opinion. While not how everyone may feel/agree... this place does provide a chance for young people to see these animals, up close, and realize these species should be appreciated and have their environmental areas preserved in the best ways possible. Yes, maybe even seeing the bears on exhibit here, young ones will decide to build a love for these animals to where better, even more evolved options, may exist for these animals to not be displayed in this type of environment, but in a better way for all involved. Until such time, I believe places like Cherokee Bear Zoo, have a purpose. This is all my opinion.

As far as the place itself, sure it could use a little updating, the walls of the enclosures could be painted with mountain murals or atleast brighter colors, better education on the animals in the enclosures through posters or pamphlets, ect. But after speaking with Norbert (I apologize if I misspelled your name), the gentleman working the top area, I feel he is genuine when he spoke about his love for these animals and wants the younger generations to develop a want/desire to secure these animal's safety and security in an ever changing world. He showed pictures to me, not on display, of the bears in the exhibit as well as share stories about them. I'd invite anyone interested to ask him about them, as they contributed to our experience. There are plans on display about a new proposed Cherokee Bear Zoo from 2017. Hopefully this proposed new environment for the animals and staff occurs. If you are in the area, I...

If you are a highly sensitive soul, don't go. You will shed tears. It's strange I got lost on the way there several times, and I think it was the universe's way of trying to stir me away. The sight of the bears pacing the small enclosure, with one leaning up to look beyond the canopy to the forest (dreaming of escaping to its real home) was depressing. The unease at seeing others enthusiastically happy with taking pictures of the cubs--while they paced restlessly in a small cage without their mother, was even more depressing and made me want to write poetry about the state of humanity. And the monkeys (lemurs?) in the cages seemed incredibly bored and sad. I think they had some type of small wolf who had purposefully placed it's body away from the crowd in its cage, so I wasn't even sure what it was or could ever become. I felt immediate guilt from visiting and witnessing these majestic creatures surviving (not thriving on this beautiful planet we ALL call home) in this small concrete enclosure. They even had a Grizzly with sad eyes. I guess everyone will have different reactions, and the people who checked me in were courteous, and I am no bear expert, but visiting places like this is not for everyone. How courteous can you be if you are profiting from this? We're all unique individuals, but if you are highly sensitive soul (indigo, starseed, empath), you may want to reconsider the visit or at least prepare yourself mentally/emotionally. Some places sensitive souls should not enter. The bears, goats, lemur, wolf, and monkeys...

First of all, this place is handicap accessible, which was great since we both had to use scooters. The people here are very friendly. You can take all the pics you want. It is truly amazing to see these well cared-for animals. Several of the bears were very frisky. It was very amazing to watch them being safely close to them. For a buck, you can get a tray of food to feed them. I got an awesome pic of the bear sitting up with mouth open and awaiting the piece of fruit. We had our picture made with the baby tiger. It was a once in a lifetime experience to be able to actually pet it and be that close. Worth every bit of only $20. The trainer had excellent control of the tiger. This was too cool. There is one monkey there that likes to flash and chatter his teeth. If you try to take a pic, the monkey will not do it. When I left, the monkey came over and laughed at me I think, lol. If you put a quarter in the food machine, the pygmy goats will love you and head your way, yes, they are watching you. They eat the food right out of your hand! My scooter lady and I got some great pics and had a great time. Be sure to stop in the ice cream shop, great milkshake and butter pecan ice cream. I really enjoyed visiting the beautiful healthy animals at the time. It now time to go back and visit them again. There sure are some radical naysayers about this nice animal sanctuary. That is okay. The world needs haters to have love in it....