Bear cub, found in East Tenn., adjusting to life in NC museum

A bear that spent much of its infancy at the Appalachian Bear Rescue in Townsend is adjusting well to life in a North Carolina Museum.

Yona is now a year old and on public display at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham. 

She was found alongside a road last February, apparently orphaned or abandoned. Taken to the Appalachian Bear Rescue, she became part of a banner class of 23 bears taken in this year.

But Yona wasn't like the other "kids"--wild bear instincts didn't rub off on her. She was too social, and tended to view human workers as peers or friends. When other bears showed aggression as part of establishing the "pecking order" among the bears, Yona thought they were playing.

It was clear she couldn't be released to the wild.

Now, she's got a new home, with four other bears. Gus, Mimi, Virginia, and Ursula share a home with Yona. After a monthlong quarantine at the museum, Yona was introduced to the other bears.

So far, the signs are that the other bears are tolerating her presence.

Gus, previously the enclosure's youngest bear, has been play-wrestling with Yona.

At this point, workers at the museum said Yona prefers to stay in the bear house rather than playing out in the enclosure, but they expect she'll feel more comfortable with her surroundings over time.

Yona playing with Gus at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, NC.

article from WBIR.com, Knoxville TN.