Otto and Rollo Bear, the five-month-old cubs at ABR, were moved to a new Acclimation Pen.  They were moved from Acclimation Pen #2 to A.P. #3.  The reason?  The electric wires along the sides of #2 are spaced further apart than those in #3 and the curators were concerned that Rollo could possibly get caught between them.  Safety is of primary importance, and they felt that he would be safer in pen #3.

The move was quickly accomplished.  The curators worked with speed and in silence, capturing the cubs in carriers and moving them to the new pen.  While they were at it, they were able to weigh the cubs in the carriers, and by subtracting the weight of the carrier, to learn how much each of them weighs now.  Otto weighs 20.4 pounds and Rollo weighs 15 pounds!

This is how the cubs were moved, one at a time, in the carrier.

Although the cubs made quite a fuss, it didn’t take them long to settle down in their new Acclimation Pen.

The cubs immediately climbed up to the high platform.

Rollo on the platform in the new pen.

Otto chewed on a stick in the new pen.

There was a new feature in this pen – the Food Wheel, instead of the familiar bowls.  The cubs took to this new food delivery system right away.

Rollo started to climb down to the Food Wheel, with Otto right behind him.

Otto urged Rollo to go faster.

Rollo dropped into the wheel as Otto followed close behind.

The cubs eating at their Food Wheel.

Rollo finally came up to take a breath. Otto continued to munch away.

As we can see, the cubs settled into their new digs very quickly.  They won’t be here long, however.  The reason for this move is to provide access to Wild Enclosure #3, where they will spend the rest of their stay at ABR.

After a nighttime windstorm, the curator spotted the two yearlings in the same tree where she’d seen them the night before.  Apparently they weathered the storm in the tree. This photo shows how far away the curator is when taking a picture.

Summitt and Dani Bear shared a tree during the windstorm.

Summitt is securely wedged, but it surely looks uncomfortable!

Dani Bear always seems to be posing.

Finally, we see Hawkins Bear, who is doing well.  The fact that he hasn’t made a fuss about being in the pen indicates that perhaps his instincts tell him that he still needs to rest in order to recover from his injuries.

Hawkins looks down from his platform.

The next post will reveal how the two cubs react to their Wild Enclosure.  It’s sure to be an interesting story.

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