Tedford Bear, Cub #217, arrived at ABR in mid-October.  He was malnourished and dehydrated, as all of the most recent arrivals have been.  The vets at UT prescribed medications to rid him of parasitic worms and treat his infection.  A few days ago, he finished the last of his meds, and was judged to be ready for the Wild Enclosure.  After spending time in the acclimation pen for careful monitoring of his condition while he took the meds, it was finally time to let him experience the large, natural habitat where he was certain to be more comfortable and less stressed.  Here is how the release went, documented in a great series of photos.

Tedford was confined in a carrier for the move outside.  The carrier was set down in the Wild Enclosure, and the door was opened.

Tedford peeks out of the door.

He takes a small step out of the carrier.

He takes a larger step.

What does he see?  Trees!!

Tedford sees trees nearby.

Tedford chooses a tree to climb.

Just as we would expect, Tedford climbs quickly up the chosen tree.

Tedford climbs up.

He looks toward the camera for a brief moment.

Tedford finds a comfortable branch.

After settling on his branch, Tedford fell asleep immediately.  He was a tired little bear.

Tedford fell asleep.

This photo shows us how high he climbed before choosing his branch.

Tedford was very high in the tree!

Although it is worrisome to humans watching, a little bear wants to get as high as possible, to be safe from danger.  Tedford is more comfortable than he has been since sometime before he was rescued and brought to ABR.  He is in the Wild Enclosure that was previously used by Woody, Cub #205, during his two-month stay at ABR earlier in the year.