Appalachian Bear Rescue admitted another 2016 black bear cub, #254.  Nicknamed Fergus Bear, the little male was brought to ABR by a ranger from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.  He is tiny, at three months of age (same age as Finnegan) he weighs just 3.26 pounds.  There was no sign of a mother or siblings, so the ranger brought him to ABR.  A cub this small cannot survive long in the wild without the protection of its mother.  He was examined by UT vet Dr. Ramsey, who happened to be at ABR, and found to be reasonably healthy.

Cub #254, Fergus Bear, arrives at ABR. The NPS ranger used this trap to catch him.

Fergus Bear is housed in The Cub Nursery temporarily. The curators will observe him closely as they did with Finnegan.  Fergus Bear weighs only .27 pound more than Finnegan did when he arrived, even though he is a month older.

Fergus Bear in The Cub Nursery.

The curator put bowls of formula and applesauce in the pen, to see if Fergus would lap.  If not, they will need to bottle feed him, and will probably use the Cub Feeder that Curator Coy designed for Finnegan.

Fergus in the pen with Mother Bunny for companionship.

As we can see, Fergus is not much bigger than Mother Bunny.  That will change as he gets the nourishment from the bear milk replacement formula and soft fruits.  Curator Coy estimates that Finnegan Bear now weighs almost 15 pounds!