The most recent arrivals at Appalachian Bear Rescue came to us during the last days of 2015. They are our New Year’s babies. Today we have some news and photos of them.
#236 (Milo Bear) was not eating when he first came to ABR on December 30th. This was a cause for grave concern, given his extremely small size and the fact that he had scat smeared on him, something that a normal cub would not do. Curator Janet rushed him back to the UT Vet School, where Dr. Sullivan pumped out his stomach to dislodge whatever was causing his problem. It was discovered that he had been eating garbage before he was rescued. Garbage can be lethal to bears, but it is likely that garbage was all he could find as he struggled to survive. Dr. Sullivan told the curator to stop the medications and to try to tempt him to eat whatever might appeal to him. Here we see Milo on the table at the vet school, having his stomach pumped.
Milo has his tummy pumped.
The UT vets are very caring and we are grateful for their help. Hopefully, Milo will be able to eat again after getting rid of whatever was causing him distress.
When they returned to ABR, Cub #237, Happy Bear, was moved from the Cub Nursery to an acclimation pen. He didn’t need the extra heat any longer, and The Cub House is warm enough. Milo Bear needed to be monitored very closely, and the plan was to feed him every 3-4 hours as if he were a much younger cub. The Cub House is ideal for that scenario as the curator can observe via a baby monitor and can access The Cub House easily for frequent feedings.
Happy Bear before his move to The Cub House. He was still in the Cub Nursery.
The third recent and tiny arrival, Cub #235 (Zellie Bear) has been at ABR for 10 days now. She has moved into an acclimation pen so she can easily be released into a Wild Enclosure when she is ready.
Zellie Bear likes her log “den” in the acclimation pen.
She ventures out of the log to eat, but does so very cautiously. She lets the curator know that she wants no contact with a human!
Zellie comes out for lunch.
Curator Janet tossed a pear onto the platform, and Zellie found it. Pears are a favorite food for the cubs.
Zellie Bear investigates the pear.
Zellie seems to be making progress. She climbs, an important skill that a cub must demonstrate before being released into the Wild Enclosure.
Over in Wild Enclosure 4, Herbie Bear wanted Cindy Lou to move out of his way. He had to tell her several times before she moved.
Herbie Bear vocalized at Cindy Lou Bear until she moved.
It is easy to see the contrast in sizes between the three tiny cubs and those that have been with us just a little longer. At eleven months, the age of all nineteen cubs at ABR, they should weigh between 50 and 80 pounds. Our “New Year’s” cubs weigh just about a quarter of what is normal for cubs their age. We are so glad that we can help these little orphans and give them a second chance.