Our little cub Finnegan doesn’t look so much like a cub any more.  He’s looking more like a big bear.  In these photos of him foraging we see the shape of his face has changed, with his nose more elongated.  The baby cub look has been replaced with a more grown-up appearance.  The fact is that he is now more than twenty times the weight he was when he arrived in March!  Bears do grow quickly.  Of course he still is small in bear terms, since an average male bear in the Smokies weighs between 125 and 250 pounds.  But that kind of growth will take place over the next few years.  He won’t reach full adult bear status until he is about five years old.

Meanwhile, here are the latest photos of him.  His eating is slowing down some, perhaps due to the fact that he is aware of Andy and Eliza’s departure, meaning that all of the food is his – no need to try and defend his share.

Finnegan looking more like a grown-up bear.

He still forages, but is very relaxed about his eating.

He is heading for his tree to nap more often.

We anticipate that he will do well when returned to the wild, and we’ll post the news when that happens.  Stay tuned.