Michael Pelton, the UT professor emeritus and wildlife biologist who studied black bears for more than 30 years, passed away on Tuesday, Sept. 1.

Pelton joined the UT Forestry Department in 1968 as one of the two original wildlife faculty members. He planned to study cottontail rabbits, but that changed after the National Park Service called and asked him to study black bears in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

What started under Pelton led to one of the longest continuous studies of a bear population in the world. “I’m a strong proponent of long-term studies. It takes a long time to see how bears respond through the different seasons,” Pelton told Our Tennessee in 2018. “Similar to humans in many ways, bears are the other intelligent omnivore.”

He advised and mentored 89 graduate students. Fifty-eight of those students worked on bear projects. The others studied various mammals, from the grey fox and river otter to the white-tailed deer, woodchuck, and cottontail rabbit.

Pelton retired from UT in 1999, but he continued his research as professor emeritus. He received the Caesar Kleberg Award from The Wildlife Society in 2012. The Society noted how his research had a profound impact on our understanding of the ecology and management of bears and other wildlife species.

Our faculty, staff, students, and alumni send our condolences to his family and loved ones.

Read his full obituary from the Henry Funeral Home and Cremation Center.