On April 27, TWRA officers brought a tiny cub, weighing less than 5 pounds, to ABR.  This makes one more hungry cub we have to feed, along with the four cubs we admitted in March!  Our population now includes two females and three males, two from Louisiana and three from Tennessee.

 All of the cubs are on a formula to replace the mothers’ milk.   In addition, our curator is providing them with some solid foods in the form of berries, grapes, raisins, carrots, corn, shelled nuts, and greens.  She reports that they particularly gobble up the greens (lettuce and natural greens such as honeysuckle).  The photo shows one of the cubs with formula on its nose, trying a new food.

Learning to eat solid foods

All five are taking medications because the newest arrival developed a respiratory infection, which is slowly clearing up.  Another reason to support ABR and our work – medicines, as you know, are very expensive.

They are gaining weight rapidly.  The heaviest cub is a male that weighs 18 pounds, and the smallest is the newest one, who now weighs 7 pounds.  They are still in the smaller weaning pen.  By early to mid June, they should be ready to be introduced to the larger, half-acre enclosure, where they will learn to forage for their food.  In order to move into the larger enclosure, they must be able to devour whole apples and ears of corn.