Thumper had his day at UTCVM, so now all five of the Enclosure #4 cubs are patients, recovering from the strange illness that infected them. Here’s an update.
First, there was Thumper, who escaped capture when the others were taken to UTCVM.
Curator Tom encourages Thumper to exit into the carrier.
As expected, Thumper had the same malady as his friends, only he was not as sick,
Thumper was x-rayed.
Then he was poked, prodded, thumped, and drained.
He is not happy with his treatment, but he’s back at ABR and is eating all of his food! What an appetite!
Sisters Martha and Betsy are together in the Cub House after being separated to take their meds.
During the separation, Martha looks like a furry black blob from above.
However, discontent is shown by her exploded bed.
Tamale was so sick it was feared that he would have to go back to UT, but his brother seems to be good medicine for him.
Like the sisters, Tamale and Burrito are separated to take their meds, but then they are together again.
The vets recommended humidifiers to help the cubs breathe. Curator Haley went out and purchased one for each building.
Moving on to the Wild Enclosures:
The four boys in Wild Enclosure #2 sleep blissfully on their platform. Caramel is in a tree nearby.
Here is an example of the way the bacteria was transmitted from cub to cub in enclosure #4 – this bonding behavior, seen often in every enclosure, is the perfect pathway for germs!
Puddin’ soaks up the sun. He looks healthy!
But the curators are watching all the cubs carefully.
Because of the covering on the fence, Doodlebug and her friends don’t see the Curators walking by frequently. They are also listening to hear if any cub is coughing. We hope not!
This is a stressful time at ABR. Nothing like this has ever happened during our 27 year history. Hopefully, there will be no more casualties from this devastating illness!
Now, to end on a more positive note, we must remember how Juggles miraculously survived for two months with that jug on his head, and now he is going to grow and thrive at ABR!
We don’t have a picture of him, but here is his room in the Recovery Center, showing his exploded bed. He is not a happy cub, it appears! Soon he will go out into a Wild Enclosure where he should be much happier! Watch this space.