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Rehabilitation and release of orphaned bears into the wild offers bear managers an alternative to euthansia or transfer of bears to captive facilities. The objective of our study was to estimate short-term survival of orphaned American black bears (Ursus americanus) rehabilitated and released into the Smoky Mountains. Between January 1998 and July 1998, we released 11 rehabilitated orphaned bears (6 males, 5 females) into the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee and North Carolina. Age of bears at time of release from 11 to 18 months old. We monitored released bears via radiotelemetry from January 1998 to October 1998. Although we documented no mortality of bears, the fate of 2 bears in the study was unknown. Maximum survival (assuming 2 bears of unknown fate survived) to 180 days post-release was 1.00 (95% CI = 0.22-1.00), and minimum survival (assuming 2 bears with unknown fate died) to 120 and 180 days post-release ranged from 0.90 (95% CI; 0.60-1.00) to 0.77 (95% CI = 0.26-1.00), respectively. Our results indicated that short-term survival (to 180 days) of rehabilitated orphaned bears was high and may be a viable alternative for managers dealing with orphaned bears.