In our last post, we showed all three of the cubs in the new acclimation pen adjacent to both the Cub House and the new Wild Enclosure.  Today we will finish the story by showing how they got to their final destination – the Wild Enclosure.  It took much longer than the few minutes it will take you to read the post and see the photos.  It was exciting to see which little bear was brave enough to venture out into the “wild.”  Marvin!!

Marvin heads out into the tall grass.

He went straight to a tall tree and climbed up quickly.

Marvin appears to be very much at home in the tree.

Bonnie Blue and Ridgeway were a bit more deliberate.

Bonnie Blue and Ridgeway weren’t in a hurry.

They looked and sniffed before stepping out.  Once out, they stopped to taste the applesauce that had been left to tempt Marvin.  Marvin had ignored it completely as he hurried to the tree.

The cubs tasted the applesauce on the rocks.

They weren’t sure what to do next.

Now what?

Ridgeway bravely heads out into the unknown.

Bonnie Blue didn’t let him get very far ahead of her.

The two cubs disappeared into the underbrush.

After a while, Ridgeway decided to join Marvin in the tree.

Ridgeway starts to climb up the tree.

Marvin is still up in the tree. He feels safe there.

Before Ken LaValley left, Woody Bear made a brief appearance in his Wild Enclosure so that our photographer could get a couple of photos.  As you know, Woody is a very reclusive bear.  Even the curators seldom see him as more than an occasional black blob among the trees.

Woody Bear came into view.

Ken LaValley was able to get a closeup by using his telephoto lens!

Woody’s closeup.

Woody is a handsome yearling.  He is not in the enclosure with the cubs, because he is bigger and older, and in the wild yearlings and cubs don’t usually come into the same spaces.  In a few weeks, Woody will be ready for release back into the wild – as soon as the berries are ripe.