This has been a very busy week at ABR, with the arrival of yet another injured bear on October 21st. This is a yearling, the first yearling in our class of 2021. He had been hit by a car, and was taken to UT College of Veterinary Medicine by Park Ranger Greg Grieco (a former ABR curator). The examination showed he is a 21-month-old yearling and weighs 66.13 pounds. He has a fractured radius and ulna in his left front leg.

He spent the night in the ABR Red Roof Recovery Center, on pain meds and anti-inflammatories, but the next morning he returned to UTCVM for a lengthy surgery. Because the Red Roof Recovery Center is not suitable for a yearling bear, he will have to reside in the Hartley House for an extended period. Therefore, the release of cubs Stout and Porter was hastened, and they went into Wild Enclosure #1 so that the Hartley House could be cleaned and sterilized for #345, nicknamed Bud Bear.

The only photo we have of him at present is this one, from his surgery at UT.

This photo is very interesting, as it shows how similar the anatomy of a bear and human actually is. We can see that Bud’s front leg looks like a human arm, as it is held up for the surgery. It has often been observed that the anatomy of a bear (minus the fur coat) resembles that of a human.

Another lesson we learn from Bud’s arrival is that our nine-month-old cubs, who have been feasting on a high calorie diet that includes bear pellets and many kinds of nuts very likely have reached weights that may be typical of yearlings in the wild at this time of the year.

So now, just in time for the usual monthly birthday celebration, we are caring for ten cubs (9-months-old) and one yearling who is 21-months old. Stay tuned to follow the stories of these bears!