First of all, we apologize for going so long before a post.  Computer issues have called a halt to our posting, but we are back in business now.

Today (May 31st) Curator David met a TWRA officer at the facility and received a male yearling that had been rescued after he had been hanging around the Old Smokey Candy Kitchen for a few days.  David took the yearling to UT for his initial exam.

This little bear is the same age as Magnolia, about 16 months old.  He weighed just 23 pounds, which is underweight for a yearling, but his distended belly indicates that he has been filling up on the wrong kind of food.  Otherwise he passed his checkup and was deemed healthy.  He was sent to ABR with worm medicine and David was told that the yearling should be on water only for tonight, to help with elimination of whatever is causing his distended belly.  Tomorrow he will get to eat the usual ABR fare.

Bear #271 is nicknamed Bumble B. Bear.  Here are some introductory photos.

Bumble B. Bear before he was rescued.

The little yearling bear was not doing well on his own.

Here is Bumble B. Bear on his way to the UT College of Veterinary Medicine.

He was given a thorough exam. He was found to be slightly anemic.

X-rays were taken during the exam. He didn’t have any broken bones or internal problems.

After the exam, he went to ABR, where he is in Acclimation Pen #2.

Bumble B. Bear is the first male of the season for ABR.  He is the second yearling of the year.  We are glad that he was rescued and brought to us, and we are sure that he will make rapid progress.

We will bring you up to date with the other cubs and yearling – Clementine, Viola and Magnolia – in our next posts.  They are doing well and have provided some humorous moments during the past few days.  Stay tuned.