Our 12th yearling cub of 2012 is Stella, who was admitted on February 19th weighing just 10 pounds.  Here is the latest photo of her.

It looks like she is protecting the grapes that are partly hidden under the straw.

She is eating well and she, along with her roommate, Junior, are getting along.  It will take a while but these 2 smallest bears will grow large enough to be introduced to the Wild Side and eventually be released into there true, wild habitat in the woods.

Some of you have asked about photos of specific cubs:  i.e., “Why don’t we see more photos of Challenger?”

The reason is that some of our orphans simply don’t like to have their pictures taken!

Hardy and Challenger, for example, are very camera-shy but  both are doing well.  The photographer takes great care to take photos only when and if it doesn’t stress the bears.  He must be “invisible” as he takes the photos – which makes it difficult to capture some of the bears on camera.

We certainly appreciate his work, though, and think he does a terrific job! Thanks, Mike.