Instructions
Welcome, Junior Biologist! Today you are heading into Cades Cove, a beautiful valley in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Your mission is to study the American Black Bear (Ursus americanus) and manage the balance between wildlife and the thousands of tourists who visit each day.
- Complete each section representing a different branch of your training.
- Use the data provided to make scientific decisions.
- Move through the tasks in order, as they get progressively more challenging.
- If you get stuck, look for the Biologist's Hint boxes!
Section 1: History & Social Studies (The Landscape)
Before you track bears, you must understand the land. Cades Cove was once home to Cherokee Indians and later European settlers in the 1820s. In 1934, it became part of a National Park.
Task: Read the scenario and answer the question.
Scenario: Historically, settlers grew corn which attracted bears into their cabins. Today, tourists often leave food trash behind, which causes bears to lose their fear of humans. This is called "habituation."
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Why is a "habituated" bear more dangerous to people than a wild bear?
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How does the history of the land (from farms to a protected park) change the way humans and bears interact?
Section 2: Math & Science (The Field Report)
You have captured and released five bears this week to check their health. Use the table below to record your data and calculate the missing values.
| Bear ID | Gender | Age (Years) | Weight (lbs) | Health Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Example: B-01 | Female | 4 | 165 lbs | Healthy |
| B-02 | Male | 2 | 210 lbs | |
| B-03 | Female | 7 | 180 lbs | |
| B-04 | Male | 5 | 350 lbs | |
| B-05 | Female | 1 | 85 lbs | |
| B-06 | Male | 10 | 420 lbs |
Math Challenge:
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What is the average weight of the male bears you caught? (Show your work: Add weights and divide by 3)
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Science Fact: Black bears are omnivores. If a bear's diet is 80% plants and 20% meat/insects, and it eats 10 lbs of food, how many pounds of plants did it eat?
Section 3: English & Art (Public Education)
A big part of being a biologist is teaching the public how to stay safe.
Task 1 (English): Write a 3-sentence "Public Service Announcement" (PSA) to be played over the Cades Cove radio station. It must include the words: Distance, Food, and Respect.
Task 2 (Art): In the box below, sketch a "Bear Warning" sign. Instead of using many words, use a clear visual symbol that tells a tourist exactly what not to do (e.g., don't feed the bears, or don't take selfies with them).
| Sketch Your Sign Below |
|---|
| (Leave Space for Drawing) |
Section 4: Physical Education & Music (The Bear Walk)
Task 1 (P.E.): Biologists must be fit! Bears are digitigrades (they walk on their toes) but can also be plantigrades (walking flat-footed like humans).
- The Challenge: Try to walk across the room as quietly as possible on your tiptoes (Bear Stalk). Then, do 10 "Bear Crawls" (moving on hands and feet without your knees touching the ground).
- Reflection: Which movement was more tiring? Why?
Task 2 (Music): Sounds tell us a lot about the forest. Bears make different noises: grunts (relaxed), woofs (startled), and jaw-popping (nervous/angry).
- The Challenge: Create a 4-beat rhythm pattern using only "forest sounds" (claps for twigs snapping, "shhh" for wind, and a low "woof").
- Write your rhythm pattern here (Example: Snap, Snap, Shhh, Woof):
Section 5: Advanced Challenge (Ethics)
Biologist's Dilemma: A bear named B-04 has learned how to open car doors to get snacks. He is not aggressive, but he is causing property damage.
Question: Should the park rangers move the bear 50 miles away to a different forest, or should they close the road to tourists for a month to let the bear relearn natural hunting? Explain your reasoning.
Answer Key
Section 1: History & Social Studies
- Habituated bears lose their natural fear. They may approach humans aggressively looking for food, which leads to dangerous encounters for both.
- In the past, humans hunted bears to protect crops. Now, humans must protect bears from our own trash and behavior.
Section 2: Math & Science
- Math: (210 + 350 + 420) / 3 = 326.6 lbs.
- Science: 8 lbs of plants.
Section 3: English (Answers vary) Example: Please keep your distance from the wildlife. Never leave food out in the open. Show respect for the bears of Cades Cove by keeping the valley clean.
Section 4: P.E. & Music
- P.E.: Usually the Bear Crawl is more tiring because it uses full-body core strength.
- Music: Student-created rhythm.
Section 5: Ethics (Open-ended) Students should show an understanding of the trade-off between human convenience (keeping the road open) and animal welfare (moving the bear or changing human behavior).