Sweet moments like this make you want to hit the paws button. While exploring Glacier National Park in Montana, photographer Seth Anderson witnessed this tender scene between a mother black bear and her cub. Between that and the staggering beauty of the mountains from the Lewis Range as a backdrop, it’s an experience he’ll never forget. Photo courtesy of Seth Anderson.

How can you sleep in on Saturday when there’s so much to see and do on public lands? Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee is one of the largest protected areas in the eastern United States where black bears can live in wild, natural surroundings. Biologists estimate that roughly 1,500 bears live in the park. Bears have color vision and a keen sense of smell. In addition, they are good tree climbers, swim very well and can run 30 miles per hour. If they want to. This little cub’s just not in the mood. Photo by Matt & Delia Hills (www.sharetheexperience.org).

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Great Smoky Mountains National Park is one of the largest protected areas in the eastern United States where black bears can live in wild, natural surroundings. Bears inhabit all elevations of the park – with an estimated 1,500 bears living in the park. Bear cubs are usually born in the winter and emerge from their dens in late March or early April. Bears can run 30 miles per hour, can swim very well and are good tree climbers like this baby bear pictured here.  Bears can live 12-15 years or more, but animals that have access to human foods and garbage have a life expectancy of only half. Do your part by using the park’s bear-proof dumpsters and disposing of all garbage properly. Photo by Sidney Cromer (www.sharetheexperience.org).

Happy Labor Day! Thanks to all of the hard workers, especially our Interior employees, who make our country great. Enjoy a nap. We hope you sleep as well as this bear cub at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. Photo by Charlie Choc (www.sharetheexperience.org).

Cuteness alert: four adorable bear cubs go on a walk with their mother in Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. It’s rare to see a mother bear with that many cubs – they usually only have two or three baby bears. Next Friday, August 19, marks the 75th anniversary of the refuge, which was created to protect Kodiak bears and their habitat. Video by Lisa Hupp, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

You know it’s spring when baby bears 🐻 are out! This cute cub is lounging in a tree at Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee. Mother bears and their cubs usually emerge from their winter dens in late March to early April. Photo by Matt & Delia Hills (www.sharetheexperience.org).

Baby black bears are born in the winter and stay in the den with their mothers through the cold months. In spring, the cubs emerge to explore the world and show off their cuteness. Photo from Cades Cove in Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee by Steve Perry (www.sharetheexperience.org).

Your daily dose of cute: A bear cub hanging out in a tree at Great Smoky Mountains National Park (North Carolina and Tennessee). Black bears give birth during hibernation, and the female bears and their cubs usually emerge from their winter dens in late March and early April. Photo by Matt & Delia Hills (www.sharetheexperience.org).

Here’s some serious cute for your morning: Two bear cubs holding paws at Lake Clark National Park in Alaska. Lake Clark is home to a diverse population of wildlife, including brown bears. During the summer months, it’s common for visitors to see a gathering of bears along Lake Clark’s Cook Inlet. Photo by Mary Gretchen Kaplan (www.sharetheexperience.org).

A mom and her cubs in Great Smoky Mountain National Park.

Please remember that no matter how cute they look, bears are wild animals and can be dangerous and unpredictable. Do not approach bears or allow them to approach you! This photo was taken with a telephoto lens and cropped to make the bears appear closer than they were. Please see http://www.nps.gov/grsm/naturescience/black-bears.htm bear safety information.

Photo of bears in Cades Cove by Samuel Hobbs.