We didn’t think any of our cubs, or even our yearling would be released back into the wild yet, but our latest arrival, Plum P. was released yesterday afternoon! If you recall, Plum P. was very large when she arrived – indeed, she weighed as much as some of our cubs weigh when released in late fall or early winter! She was very sad during her short time at ABR, sitting in her Acclimation Pen and staring out into the enclosure. Our curators, the UT vets, and the TWRA conferred, and decided the best thing would be to put her back out in the wild without delay. She had finished her deworming medicine, so at least she won’t be bothered by parasites for a while, at least. Although we always try to release a bear in a location near to where it came from, that wasn’t practical in this case, since she came from an area that is densely populated with bears as well as humans. Since she is only 7.5 months old, she won’t have the strong homing instinct that older bears have. It is hoped that in her new home she will not have to compete with other bears and will not have access to human food.
A short video, featuring Curator Greg and TWRA Biologist, Janelle Musser explain why and how this release happened at such an early time and so unexpectedly.To see the explanation as well as how eagerly she jumped down from the truck to climb a tree in her new home, just click – https://fb.watch/upMOzhUQBC/