We posted about the triplet cubs who arrived on June 30 and are currently in the Hartley House. You’ll remember that this family has two males and one female cub, and that one of the males, Highland Bear, had to have surgery to remove a blood clot from his bladder. That is the reason for the temporary confinement. Here is an update on the threesome.
Highland and his sister, Nessie, both have distinctive chest blazes. This is somewhat unusual for Southern Appalachian black bears, and these two have the most distinctive that we can remember on any ABR cubs.
To help relieve the stress of their confinement, the curators prepare “bluebeary sandwiches for the cubs to eat and play with.
The sandwiches are made from blueberries (or something else that is tasty) spread on pieces of log, and tied up with vines. The bears take them apart to eat the filling and then play with what is left.
The cubs enjoy their sandwiches and sometimes enjoy stealing from their siblings. That’s part of the fun!
The curators dream up new activities like this to challenge the cubs while they are confined.
Here is one of the two cubs with white “bibs.” We aren’t sure whether this is Nessie or Highland, but love the way he or she is sitting in the food bowl.
In our next post we’ll focus on another set of triplets in a Wild Enclosure. Stay tuned.