After our hopeful post yesterday, when it seemed that our big guy, Thumper Bear, was turning the corner in his battle against that terrible illness that has devastated the cubs in Wild Enclosure #4, he took a sudden turn for the worse. The dedicated doctors of the UT College of Veterinary Medicine felt there was nothing more they could do for him but to release him from his suffering. With the acquiescence of the Curators and the TWRA, they made one last trip to ABR, this time, sadly, to euthanize Thumper. It is a devastating loss, since Thumper was the first 2023 cub-of-the-year to arrive in April. It also means that half of the cubs in Wild Enclosure #4 have died of this deadly disease. We hope that he is running and climbing trees across the rainbow bridge, and wish a heartfelt RIP to Thumper.
We will never forget you, Thumper!