By Austin Young
While it's true that the outdoor community treasures the Tennessee River Gorge for its stunning scenery, essential ecological services, and endless opportunities for recreation, it's often the wildlife encounters that leave the most lasting impressions. Despite the hazardous terrain, intense summer heat, falling trees, extreme weather, hidden cave entrances, poisonous plants, venomous animals, and the frequent run-ins with stinging, biting, creeping, crawling critters, we find ourselves returning to the canyon day after day. Are we a little crazy? You bet. But the mere possibility of a rare or thrilling encounter with the wildlife we cherish is one of the many reasons we’ll never stop working to conserve the Gorge.
Of course, it's impossible to condense all the unforgettable wildlife encounters in the Gorge into a mere “Top 10”—but I’m going to try. My reasoning is twofold. First, the fact that the Gorge has produced so many entertaining and memorable wildlife experiences is proof that the community’s efforts to preserve a healthy Tennessee River Gorge are working. Let’s enjoy some of the fruits of that labor, so to speak, and celebrate the stories that have emerged from successful conservation. Second, it seems nearly everyone enjoys hearing and sharing tales of exciting wildlife interactions. I hope you enjoy reading a few of these stories—and that they inspire you to get out there and make some unforgettable memories of your own with the incredible creatures that call the Gorge home.
# 10: Tricolored Bats in Hugden Branch Cave
The mysterious aura surrounding the Tricolored Bat was magnified by the setting in which we observed them—a deep, dark, silent, lightless cave. Turning off our headlamps and sitting in stillness created an eerie, almost otherworldly feeling. My colleagues, Robert and Allison, had the courage to venture deep into the cave, where they encountered dozens of Tricolored Bats.
We often see the silhouettes of bats in the fading evening light as they hunt for food. Seeing them up close in hibernation during the winter months, however, is quite another experience. The federally endangered Tricolored Bat hibernates in surprisingly large numbers in a protected cave on TRGT lands. They appear much smaller in hibernation, with their long, leathery wings folded—aptly described as looking like a “peanut with wings.” Still, they retain a distinctly predatory appearance, with conspicuous claws and relatively large, pointy ears.
Federally-endangered Tricolored Bat in hibernation mode deep in a cave. Photo Credit: Austin Young
# 9: A mother bobcat in Cash Canyon
While out on routine duties, TRGT staff were treated to an unforgettable and rare wildlife encounter on Cash Canyon Road. As the vehicle rounded a bend, they spotted an adult bobcat calmly sitting on the shoulder of the road. Expecting the cat to dart away, the team slowed down and pulled right up to her—but to their surprise, she remained completely still.
Moments later, the reason for her uncharacteristic boldness became clear. From the thick understory, two bobkittens emerged and cautiously made their way across the road! The team watched in awe as the young cats—tiny, fluffy—navigated the open stretch of pavement and disappeared into the woods on the other side. Only once her kittens were safely across did the mother rise and silently slip into the forest after them.
Seeing bobcats in the wild is a rare treat, especially with young in tow. As a top predator in the region, the presence of healthy, reproducing bobcats is a good indicator of a thriving ecosystem.
A Bobcat mother with her bobkittens. Photo Credit: Vishal Subramanyan
# 8: Common Snapping Turtle experiences
The spring and early summer months of May and June are excellent times to spot snapping turtles roaming the landscape. It’s quite a sight to see a large adult lumbering across a meadow—like an armored tank plowing across the land to procreate.
However, one such encounter left the observer struck not just by the turtle’s presence, but by its impressive mountaineering abilities. One evening in the spring of 2025, a TRGT staff member was on a steep slope in the Gorge when he heard a sudden crash that sounded like a large rock tumbling downhill. To his surprise, he discovered that a female snapping turtle had walked off a small rock ledge high on the slope of the plateau. She had rolled down the hill—luckily landing upright—then continued her determined march back toward the Tennessee River.
Eliot assumed she was searching for a suitable nesting site. But why in the world was she navigating such rugged terrain? Quite the mystery. Perhaps it speaks to the extreme lengths animals will go in order to reproduce.
I am glad she turned out okay, but there’s something a bit funny about the mental image of a huge turtle rolling down the side of the canyon!
TRGT Volunteer Rob Richie holding a Common Snapping Turtle that we found at our Aetna Bog site on the very top of Aetna Mountain. At some point, this tank or its relatives had to hike up to the top of this mountain to get here.
# 7: Red-shouldered Hawk in-the-hand
I grew up watching Red-shouldered Hawks from the beginning of my birding career at 3 years old! They would hunt from powerlines in western Oregon and I could almost always count on seeing one every day that I rode past a particular spot. Their unique color combination has always made me believe they’re among the most gorgeous raptors in the woods.
The species has successfully survived throughout the continent and in spring 2025, we captured an adult Red-shouldered Hawk at our bird observatory here in southeastern Tennessee! Our nets aren’t designed to catch large birds, so it was a very welcome surprise. I carefully untangled the bird from the net, knowing that one misstep on my part could leave hawk talons buried in my arm. (Spoiler alert: I still have all my fingers.)
It’s always striking to observe a wild, skittish animal up close—and this dapper hawk was no exception.
An adult Red-shouldered Hawk handled by a trained professional. Photo Credit: Eliot Berz
# 6: Outsmarting a wise Wood Thrush wizard
For the last two spring seasons, we’ve deployed radio transmitters on Wood Thrushes as part of a broader effort, undertaken by many conservation organizations, to track their survival and migration patterns over time. Finding breeding thrushes was relatively easy thanks to their distinctive, flute-like song—but catching them proved to be no small task, even with the use of mist nets and audio lures.
By the time we had managed to deploy all but one transmitter during the 2025 season, we located a loudly singing male and figured he’d be our final bird of the year. However, what followed felt like an intense game of chess between us and this crafty thrush. He turned out to be quite the wizard—somehow managing to avoid the mist net over and over again, likely attuned to visual cues I still don’t fully understand. Perhaps the net resembled a spider web—something he had learned to avoid while wintering in the tropics of Central America?
But every wizard has his weakness.
Just as we were about to call it quits, I noticed the bird reacting to one specific call note coming from our speaker. My hopes of tagging this wise Wood Thrush began to feel tangible. Through a series of awkward, stop-and-go sequences—play, pause, rewind—we cycled through Wood Thrush vocalizations. Slowly, the bird began to descend through the canopy, branch by branch… only to miss the net multiple times again.
Finally, he flew into the net. The feeling was indescribable—like we had just won the World Chess Championship against the wisest Wood Thrush wizard of all time.
This experience highlights just how complex animal behavior can be. Birds—and all wildlife—are far from the simple, predictable creatures we sometimes assume them to be. Why did the thrush ignore most of the audio recording but respond so strongly to one seemingly insignificant vocalization? What was he thinking?
The author attaching a radio transmitter to the specific Wood Thrush that we (barely) outsmarted! Photo Credit: Robert Windham
#5: Bottomless Birds
When Hurricane Helene ripped through the southeastern United States in the autumn of 2024, millions of passerine birds were holding tight to the north, waiting for the storm to pass before continuing their southward migration. On October 1, 2024—two days after the hurricane moved through—thousands of passerines appeared to quite literally drop out of the sky into the Tennessee River Gorge and surrounding areas to rest and forage. Here is a great example of just one bird list—complete with many photos of birds in flight—that captures just how many individuals birds were present at the time: click here to see the list.
I had never seen anything like it. Throughout the day, TRGT staff and local birders witnessed an astonishing influx: millions of warblers, thrushes, grosbeaks, sparrows, and flycatchers filled the skies and trees. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s BirdCast tool had detected 22 million birds migrating over Hamilton and Marion counties on Oct 1st.
It's important to recognize that without the extensive wilderness of the Gorge and surrounding areas, the region could not have supported such a massive wave of migratory passerines. These intact habitats are critical stopover sites, offering food and shelter when birds need them most—especially in the wake of major weather events.
Left: Screenshots from the estimate of total birds migrating through Hamilton and Marion counties on October 1st. These total bird estimates are more than twice that of any other day in autumn migration in 2024. Right: A photo of a Tennessee Warbler, which likely comprised many of the birds in the October 1st migration event. Photo Credit: Austin Young
#4: Barred Owl courtship displays in late winter
After an impressive series of vocalizations, one of two Barred Owls flew over to perch just inches away from its presumed mate. This close approach prompted the bystanding owl to hop to a nearby branch. The suitor then repositioned to ensure a clear line of sight to the bird it had just displaced. The original owl began elegantly bowing its head and lifting its tail feathers.
Seemingly impressed by the display, the observing bird accepted the suitor’s next attempt to perch on the same branch. Barred Owls are known to commonly mate for life, and the well-documented—but rarely observed—bobbing and bowing display is performed by both males and females.
I wasn’t able to find a full video of the phenomenon, but you can view a brief snippet of the Barred Owl “bow” display in a short video we posted here on Facebook.
Roosting Barred Owl in late winter. Photo Credit: Austin Young
#3: Encountering the same individual Louisiana waterthrush 4 years in a row on his breeding territory in Suck Creek
From 2016 through 2021, researchers—including TRGT staff and university partners—deployed tracking transmitters on Louisiana Waterthrushes to study their movements in the Tennessee River Gorge and beyond. One particularly remarkable bird returned for four years in a row.
This individual stood out due to its exceptional survival and repeated returns. These encounters were especially memorable because the observer had come to recognize the bird through multiple years of observation—fully aware that it had successfully navigated tens of thousands of miles each year, surviving in Tennessee, the tropics of Central America, and everywhere in between.
This represents a major feat in the world of animal migration. Each subsequent encounter with the bird felt like an extraordinary moment of connection with a far-traveling migratory animal and underscored the almost unbelievable ability of these species to consistently navigate between territories separated by thousands of miles.
A video showcasing the Louisiana Waterthrush research.
#2: Black Bear cubs in full play mode
Two black bear cubs were chasing each other playfully down the slopes of Aetna Mountain, resembling two dogs at play. Later that week, TRGT staff encountered the sow in the same area! She quickly vacated the vicinity with her cubs to avoid human disturbance.
During the settlement period of southeastern Tennessee through the mid-20th century, the community living in the Gorge relentlessly targeted black bears until the population was, as far as we know, extirpated. The belief that all large predators must be completely eliminated was a common thread in North American wildlife management for quite some time. Thankfully, black bears and other species have been able to recover in recent decades.
This historical context makes the recent bear encounter especially memorable.
A pair of images showing Black Bear sow and cubs (photographers unknown). They are a unique, large omnivore that can be quite exciting to encounter up close!
#1: Timber Rattlesnake combat dance
This summer, an observer on Edwards point documented a pair of male Timber Rattlesnakes in combat! You can observe the video here.
As you see in video of two rattlesnakes “standing up” next to each other. Half of their bodies are up off the ground, rising above the surrounding grass or brush. It looks like a beautiful mating dance, but the reality is these are actually two males in combat. A third snake, which is female, will usually be somewhere nearby.
During the Timber Rattlesnake breeding season, often late July into September in our area, if two male rattlesnakes meet while tracking a female rattlesnake, they may begin this combat. The males will raise their heads up together and begin to wrestle. They’ll twist together and try to knock each other against the ground. They may only wrestle this way for seconds or many minutes, but the winner of the battle will stay and mate with the available female rattlesnake. The losing opponent will generally flee. In some cases, a young male will approach an older, larger male who is sitting near a female. The older male might chase the younger male away without a fight.
It seems counterintuitive. Why would rattlesnakes wrestle when they have extremely potent venom? Rattlesnakes (both male and female) exhibit many more social behaviors than many people realize. They don’t usually bite each other, perhaps because there’s no reason to waste venom that’s needed for protection against predators and catching meals. Many animals such as sheep, deer and lizards have rutting behavior that is not meant to seriously injure or kill their opponent, but show who’s toughest.
If you see two males wrestling in your yard or on a trail, be on the lookout for the nearby female. Do not approach the rattlesnakes and do not let your children or dogs go near the snakes. This is just one more example of the highly social nature of rattlesnakes.
A pair of male Rattlesnakes (species unknown) in combat dance. Photo Credit: Gary Mac Alea
