Two tiny bear cubs were found along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.  After determining that there was no mother bear to be found, the cubs were transported to Appalachian Bear Rescue (ABR) which is the only facility in the southeast that is licensed to care for orphaned black bear cubs.

ABR Cubs #202 and 203

The two little cubs are about 2 months old, since all bear cubs are born in late January-early February, while the mother is denning.  These two were smaller than might be expected, as they weighed in at just about 3.5 pounds each.  We have no way of knowing what happened to their mother, or why they were found at the side of a highway, but their mother had already done a good job of instilling wild behavior in her cubs.  Both of these little ones are feisty and do not like to be handled by humans!  Their sharp claws are good self defense, and they know how to defend themselves even at this young age!  That is just the kind of behavior that we want to see, of course – the goal of ABR is to care for them with minimal human contact so they can be released back into the wild when they are large enough.

This close up of the little male cub, #203, shows his “baby face,” and mouth that can suck, but not bite as yet.

ABR Cub #203