We promised last month that when we were able to post photos of the release, on December 19th, of 11 of our ABR cubs, we would do so.

Here they are, at last, but it will take three or four posts to cover the story.  The first chapter is the darting of one of the bears, so he can be moved to the workup area.

Look closely, and you can see the dart that was used to deliver the tranquilizer.  It takes a few minutes for the tranquilizer to take effect.

Several other bears in the Wild Side enclosure gather around the darted bear who has gone down under the effect of the drug.  Without undue anthropomorphizing, it is obvious that they are showing some emotion (concern?  compassion?  worry?) regarding the state of their longtime companion and “family member.”

Bears are usually solitary animals, except for mothers with cubs, but at ABR we have learned that cubs housed together for several months act more like siblings than strangers.