In late September, a black bear sow was killed in a collision with a vehicle just inside the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, at the “Townsend Y.”  She had 3 cubs, all of which were captured by a diligent wildlife officer, who spent three days and nights in the area in order to rescue all of them and bring them to ABR.  The cubs were underweight, and because of the trauma involved in losing their mother and then being captured, they were housed in a small cage to recover and gain weight before joining the other cubs in the large (1/2 acre) enclosure.  Bear cubs climb with ease, as shown here:

The photo below shows 2 of the cubs in better light.  The third and smallest one was still up at the top of the cage.

Last week, we received one more cub.  This one had been wounded by the hunter who shot its mother.  It was taken to the University of Tennessee Vet School for medical treatment.