The two female cubs, Twinkle and Tinsel, are not friends yet. In fact, Twinkle seems to be quite a bully.
Twinkle chased Tinsel up a tree.
Twinkle huffed and clacked her jaws, to tell Tinsel she was not welcome.
Later, they were foraging near each other, a good sign, maybe.
No, too close! Twinkle chased Tinsel again, with more clacking and huffing.
But this time, twinkle didn’t chase Tinsel all the way to the top of the tree, and Tinsel came down soon.
From the ground, Twinkle watched Tinsel.
She moved away to the other side of the pool.
But she came barreling out as soon as Tinsel reached the ground.
The scenario was repeated throughout the day.
Tinsel came down to eat an apple, but kept her eyes on Twinkle.
Twinkle munched on peanuts, while staring at Tinsel.
The next morning started out the same as the day before, with Twinkle chasing Tinsel up a tree.
Twinkle took a break and chewed on a stick.
And Tinsel scratched her caboose.
These behaviors, the chasing, huffing, and jaw clacking are all ways in which black bears avoid direct physical contact with one another. As a species, black bears avoid direct confrontation whenever they can. We keep hoping that Twinkle and Tinsel will overcome their aversion to each other and can become friends while they are at ABR, but the important thing is that they are eating and drinking, and that is the main goal of the curators. Stay tuned to see the next act in the Cubby Drama!