Cecelia Bear (Bear #250)was a needy little yearling when she was rescued and brought to ABR in mid- February.  Her weight, 15.6 pounds, would have been average for a 4 to 5-month-old cub, but Cecilia was 12 months old.  She seemed healthy, so was housed in an Acclimation Pen for observation and to take the prescribed worm medicine.  She was set to be released into a Wild Enclosure soon after, but curators noticed a lump on her cheek and she was taken to the UT College of Veterinary Medicine where an abscess was discovered.  After treatment, she returned to the Acclimation Pen to finish the course of antibiotics the vets prescribed. On March 19th she was finally released into Wild Enclosure #3.  Curator Janet raised the door remotely, and Cecilia stayed on her platform for a few minutes.  She evidently did not fully realize that she was free to leave the pen.  When she did so, these photos show how she reacted to her newfound freedom.

As happens often, Cecilia’s first action was to climb a tree.

After a bit of time to get comfortable, she began to explore.

She surveyed her new space from atop a log den.

There is so much to see and do in this new, larger space!

Cecilia can grow and thrive here.

We can see that the fur has not yet grown back after her leg was shaved for the IV during her surgery, but it will fill in soon.  We’ll be interested to observe how Cecilia and her enclosure-mates will react to each other.