We have photos of Hawkins Bear today, taken by Curator David just before he had to leave the ABR facility rather suddenly.  You will remember that Hawkins is a yearling who arrived at ABR after being hit by a car in Hawkins County on June 6th.  Taken to the UT College of Veterinary Medicine for his exam, it was found that he had no broken bones, but had scrapes and bruises that were causing him pain.  He was placed into an Acclimation Pen at ABR and has remained there.

For the first couple of weeks he stayed on the platform, not climbing or moving around very much.  In fact, the curators fed him on the platform, using a cable system to hoist the food and drinking water up to where he was.  He was a hungry bear, and ate his food eagerly.  He was also a wild little bear who didn’t like the humans, and behaved like a typical bear, huffing and blowing his displeasure.  The curators managed to get a pool up on the platform for Hawkins to soak in and cool off.

Hawkins has made steady progress, coming down to eat on the floor of his Acclimation Pen and showing that he is able to climb much better now.  It has surprised the curators that Hawkins has yet to protest the confinement.  We can only surmise that his body tells him that rest is what he still needs.  Here are the photos that Curator David took.

Hawkins Bear sitting on his platform.

Hawkins stood up and David captured a different pose.

As David went by the pen a few moments later, he saw that Hawkins had come down to eat.  This was the first time the bear had been observed eating.  They knew he was coming down, because the food disappeared, but this was proof positive.

Curator David was able to get a quick photo of Hawkins eating.

After his meal, Hawkins climbed back up to take a nap on his platform.

Everyone is glad that this injured bear is doing so well.  It was touch and go for him at first, but now it seems that he is on the way to a full recovery.