This continues to be a very busy year for Appalachian Bear Rescue.  In the evening of December 9th, two more cubs arrived to join our 2015 “cub family.”  Cub #233, nicknamed Cindy Lou Bear, and her sister Cub #234, nicknamed Belle Bear arrived.  They are a bit larger than many of the malnourished recent arrivals, and appeared to be healthy enough that the usual trip to the UT Vet School was not needed.  These cubs spent a short time in an acclimation pen until the curator was sure the sedative (given when they were captured) had worn off.  Then they went directly into Wild Enclosure 4 to join Acorn and Herbie, who are about the same size.  Their names reflect the season.

Here we see Cindy Lou just before she was released into the Wild Enclosure.

Cindy Lou waits for the door to go up.

The two cubs left the pen immediately.

Cindy Lou and Belle get out into Wild Enclosure 4.

They started to explore their new surroundings.  Since it was late when they arrived, these photos are a bit on the dark side, but have been enhanced so we can see the cubs.

Cindy Lou and Belle explore.

The cubs check out their new space.

The sisters explore the enclosure.

After he was sure they were OK, Curator Coy left them for the night.  The next day, he observed all four cubs sharing the same tree.

Wild Enclosure 4 Cubs in a tree.

He zoomed in on the tree and saw this:

Cindy Lou and Belle above, Acorn in middle, Herbie on a different limb.

He zoomed in further on the two newest arrivals.

Cindy Lou and a part of Belle.

The two sisters seem to feel at home in Wild Enclosure 4.

Cindy Lou and Belle.

The goal for these two sisters is to keep the weight they have and add enough more to make them “chubby cubbies.”