Hartley Bear - Appalachian Bear Rescue

Hartley Bear was the first to arrive at ABR this year. If you recall, he was very underweight, malnourished (almost starving) and literally “on death’s door.” Had he not been rescued, he certainly would have been dead a day or two later. His rescue took place in February, on Valentine’s day. He had lost some fur, and during the next month he continued to lose fur, but miraculously, thanks to the good nutrition he was receiving, his new fur coat started to grow in. Now he has vestiges of his “old” fur that is still coming out, but he looks very good with the sleek new fur coat.

Yearlings tend to hide, and with the increased vegetation in the Wild Enclosure, it becomes harder to spot them. Today we have a series of photos captured by the enclosure cam, that show Hartley and how healthy he looks now.

Here he comes – Hartley climbs down the tree.

When he reached the platform, Hartley looked around.

He decided that it was safe for him to go all the way down.

Handsome Hartley Bear takes a drink from the Cubby Pool.

This view shows how much of his shaggy pants is left. He’s losing that old fur.

He really has become a good-looking bear!

Where is he? A few moments later, he disappears into the underbrush.

Hartley’s roommates, Sweetie and Daffodil, did not make an appearance. They too are shy yearlings who stay hidden most of the time. Maybe we’ll see them another day.