ABR Bear #295! - Appalachian Bear Rescue

Just when it seemed our bear population at ABR had stabilized, we welcomed Bear #295! A female cub-of-the-year, she is 4 months old, just like the “Party of Five” in the Cub House and the Polk County twins in the Cub Nursery. She is a South Carolina cub and was the only survivor of a traffic accident that killed her mother and two siblings. The SC DNR contacted TWRA and arranged for the transfer of the cub to TN; then we enlisted the assistance of our pilot friend, Tom Sabo, and his plane “Bear Force One.” You may recall that he was the one who airlifted the little Cajun twins from LA back in early March. Dr. Andrew Cushing, of the UT vet school, volunteered to go along.

Tom Sabo and Bear Force One, ready for takeoff.

Bear #295 in her transport carrier. Her nickname, Jessamine, is in honor of the state flower of South Carolina.

Bear Force One landed at the Gatlinburg airport.

Jessamine Bear on the tailgate of the truck that would take her the rest of the way.

Dr. Cushing examined the little cub. She weighs 19 pounds.

There were no apparent injuries from the accident that killed her family.

Jessamine Bear was settled into the second pen in the Cub Nursery.

The captain and crew of Bear Force One. Heroes all!

By the next morning, Curator Coy decided that Jessamine needed a bit more room, so he moved her into the Red Roof Recovery Center.

Jessamine has 2 rooms to herself in the Red Roof Recovery Center.

So now ABR has a population of 11 bears – 3 yearlings and 8 cubs! It will probably take Jessamine a few days to adjust to being indoors, since she has been outside for a couple of months. Hopefully she will soon be able to join some of the other cubs.