Although ABR has had an excellent success rate in terms of cubs released from our care, we are fully aware that when dealing with wildlife, there are times when sad things happen and our efforts are not enough.

In our last post we mentioned that Curator David had to leave suddenly.  The reason for his departure was the report of a cub in need.  He met the TWRA officer near Townsend, where a small cub was lying in a ditch, not moving.  The cub’s mother and two siblings were nearby, watching as a rescue was attempted.  It was obvious that this tiny cub (much smaller than the other two) was very sick.  The mother tried to help him, but she couldn’t do any more for this smallest and weakest of her cubs.

The cub was taken to UT College of Veterinary Medicine, and became ABR #264.  He was treated by Dr. Sheldon, so was named Sheldon in her honor.  Sheldon Bear stayed overnight in ICU at the vet school.  The hope was that by stabilizing his blood sugar levels and temperature there might be a chance for recovery.  But in the wee hours of the morning, Sheldon had a seizure followed by more seizures.  Blood tests revealed that he had a massive infection in his nervous system that probably was the reason for his small size (he weighed just 6 pounds).  Curator David said his siblings appeared to be about three times his size.  When it was not possible to control the seizures, the decision was made to humanely end to his suffering.

Although Sheldon Bear never made it to ABR, he became one of our bears, so we offer his sad story in photos.

Sheldon Bear’s family watches his rescue.

Sheldon’s mother hangs back, watching. She could do no more for him.

Bear #264, Sheldon Bear in transport carrier.

Sheldon Bear being examined at UT.

Sheldon Bear at UT.

Our hearts are broken.  We hoped against hope that we would be able to help this tiny cub, but he was too sick.  As we said in the title, not all stories are happy.  This is one of the sad ones, but at least we know that he died peacefully and without suffering any more than he had already suffered in his young life.

Our next post will be a happy one.