Some kind folks in Jefferson County spotted a tiny black bear cub near a busy road.  They were concerned that the cub appeared to be weak and alone and they called ABR.  Of course ABR doesn’t rescue orphaned cubs and we suggested that they call TWRA.  A TWRA officer responded to the call and rescued the little cub.

Curators Janet and David met the officer and transported the cub to the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine, where he was examined and proved to be a very vocal and ornery patient.  After the examination #261, now nicknamed Rollo Bear, was taken to ABR and the Cub Nursery.

Rollo Bear is the same age as Otto Bear, three months old, almost four months.  Here are the first photos of him.

Rollo Bear on his way to the University of TN Vet school.

Rollo Bear seems to be curious.

Rollo is in the back of the ABR truck.

At the UT College of Veterinary Medicine, Dr. Sullivan and his team performed Rollo’s examination.  They gave him his intake exam and weighed him.  Rollo Bear weighs 5.5 pounds, which is about half of Otto’s weight.  This is not surprising, since a cub at ABR is given a diet that is much enriched in comparison to the diet of a wild cub.  Rollo’s weight is normal for a cub this age in the wild.

Rollo being checked at his intake exam.

Since he was so feisty, Dr. Sullivan decided against taking a blood sample and sent him along with the curators to travel to ABR and The Cub Nursery.  He will receive worm medicine (standard for all cubs that are admitted to ABR) mixed with his applesauce and formula.

Rollo expressed his dislike of cages and humans.  He was vocal!

Eventually the tired little cub fell asleep.

The arrival of Rollo Bear increases our bear population to 3 – we now have two cubs and one yearling.  We wish that all bear cubs could stay with their mothers, but since that doesn’t always happen we are glad to be able to care for orphans like Rollo and help them grow and develop.