Hops is Making Progress - Appalachian Bear Rescue

The little bear cub at ABR, #333, Hops Bear, is making progress. He has gained weight and registered 3 pounds, 2 ounces on the 17th. The curators report that he takes the bottle happily and drains it at each feeding. The formula has been increased so that now he is getting full strength bear replacement formula.

It is important that he does not become bonded to the curators, which could easily happen, especially since he is the only cub in residence at present. To prevent that, they have begun the weaning process, with the use of the “weaning bowl” that Curator Coy devised five years ago.

The curators have found that red light is less stressful for the cubs, so they use that in the nursery for night feedings.

The red light is removed so we can get a better look at Hops.

Hops lies on his back and sucks his paw, a common self-soothing tactic for bear cubs, like thumb-sucking in babies.

Curator Quanah feeds Hops his full-strength formula.

Here is the weaning bowl. The nipple is familiar to a cub, and after he investigates it, and perhaps sucks on it, he will eventually lap the milk in the bowl and be weaned from the bottle.

Hops snoozes by the bowl – a good first step.

Another feeding for Hops Bear. It will take time for him to transition to the bowl.

He settles down for a nap after feeding. He’ll sleep until his tummy demands to be fed again.

It seems that little Hops Bear is doing well, and we can expect that to continue. Come back to see how long it takes for him to learn to lap his formula from the bowl. This is much earlier than it would be in the wild, of course, but the curators must keep him from becoming bonded to them. Stay tuned.