We will take the three yearlings one at a time, and review their lives at ABR and the final workups for release, which happened today, February 2, 2021. First up is Clover Bear.
Clover Bear, ABR Bear #315, came to us from Kentucky in mid-July, 2020. She was almost 6 months old and weighed just 6.6 pounds. There was no information about her family or how she became an orphan at an age when she could not have made it without help.
She was a tiny little bear cub.But Clover showed her climbing skills in Hartley House.Clover was able to amuse herself.She was glad to go out into the Acclimation Pen.When she went into Wild Enclosure #1, she was intrigued by the cable that held the swingy ball.Clover was growing. She was sociable and liked playing with the other cubs.Clover was becoming a chubby cubby.Round and plump – that was Clover.As time went on, her limp became more noticeable, and she had to return to UT.The vets gave her an antibiotic injection and sent her back to ABR.A much larger Clover was back in Hartley House again.This is a good photo of Clover. It shows her sociable, amiable personality.Curator Janet, the UT vets, and wildlife officers measured Clover and got her ready.Clover has a good set of strong, white teeth.This foot will take Clover back into the wilds of Kentucky.Curator Tom takes her footprint for the records.Clover weighs 75.5 pounds now – a good weight gain.Clover is ready to go home!
Clover had some difficult problems to overcome during her first year of life. The UT vets discovered that she had suffered injuries to both of her front legs, including a broken wrist and missing toes. Whatever caused those injuries, we are glad that with the help of the veterinarians we were able to give Clover a better start for her next year of life and beyond.
Our next post will be about the other Kentucky yearling, Marmalade. Stay tuned.
