We are going to review the yearlings and cubs that ABR cared for during 2017.  In today’s post we show the two yearlings when they arrived and how they looked at the time of their release.  And in the next post we’ll do the same thing for the three cubs.  The changes that take place are incredible and we’re sure you will be amazed.

Our first bear of the year was the yearling nicknamed Summitt Bear.  He arrived in early spring, and was so anemic that he required a blood transfusion!  The UT College of Veterinary Medicine, with a donation from one of the Knoxville Zoo bears, performed their first ever black bear blood transfusion and it was very successful.  Within a short time Summitt Bear was out in a Wild Enclosure to gain weight and learn to live like a wild black bear.

Soon after his arrival, Summitt Bear looks small and forlorn in the Acclimation Pen.

After about four months of care, Summitt Bear was big and healthy, ready for release back into the wild!

Summitt thrived in the Wild Enclosure.

He spent a lot of time on his favorite branch in this tree.

Summitt assumed a number of interesting positions as he rested.

The second yearling bear arrived in June.  This was the time of family breakup when mother bears disperse their yearlings to start their lives on their own.  Sometimes the yearlings don’t fare well at first.  This was the case with Dani Bear.

Dani Bear looked small and forlorn in her Acclimation Pen at first.

She was released into the same Wild Enclosure and although the two yearlings never really interacted, they tolerated each other and even shared a tree as this photo shows.

Within a few days Dani joined Summitt in the Wild Enclosure.

Dani Bear also thrived in the Wild Enclosure and became a beautiful, healthy young bear.

There’s that branch again! Dani enjoyed resting there, too.

Here is Dani just prior to her release. She was ready to resume her place in the wild.

As these photos demonstrate, there was great growth and improvement in the two yearlings that resided at ABR for a few months this year.  In our next post we’ll review the three cubs and show how they progressed.