Otto and Rollo staged a couple of wrestling matches in recent days.  Wrestling with each other is good practice for their later lives in the wild.  They strengthen their muscles and learn useful moves.  At the outset, they were relaxing in a tree.

The cubs were snoozing in a tree.

Otto Bear sat up and yawned.  Enough napping for now.

Did you know bears have very long tongues? Otto proves it.

When they got down, the wrestling match began.

Looks like Otto is getting the best of Rollo.

Otto is definitely winning this round.

Rollo Bear doesn’t look any the worse for the defeat.

Rollo takes his second place finish in stride.

No hard feelings – the two cubs share a post-wrestling match snack.

ABR has arbitrarily designated January 22 as our bears’ official birthdate.  This date falls in the middle of potential bear birthdays, which can occur from mid January to mid February.  This means that on July 22nd the cubs were 6 months old and the yearlings were 18 months old!  These are important milestones, and we have photos to celebrate.

Otto Bear is six months old!

Rollo Bear is six months old!

Dani Bear is eighteen months old!

Summitt Bear is eighteen months old!

Our one-and-one-half-year old yearlings are almost ready for release.  The TWRA officers will make the decision as to their release times and places.  Our six-month-old cubs will spend a bit longer in the care of ABR.  Although many biologists say that six months is the age at which a bear cub can survive on its own, we want to give these cubs a few more months to grow strong and be prepared for what they will encounter when they are released.