When we posted about Cub #217 (Tedford Bear) we said that while we are happy to be able to care for cubs in need, every time we receive a cub it means that something sad has happened in that cub’s life.  This past weekend, we received two more cubs that need our help.

The first one is from Kentucky.  He is a 26 pound cub and is nicknamed Derby.  His weight is not bad, for a cub in the wild, but as an orphan he would have great difficulty making it through the winter, considering the limited supply of food.  Since he has been in the wild for almost nine months, his “wildness lessons” have been well-learned, and he is a feisty little bear who does not want to be in a cage!  He had to be confined to the acclimation pen until he shows the curators that he is healthy enough to go out into a Wild Enclosure.  This is the only picture they could get of Derby, and it’s not a very good photo.  He went into the culvert den, after he first removed the towels that had been put in to make a softer bed for him.

Cub 218, Derby Bear hides in the culvert den.

On the same night that Derby came in, we received another cub from Tennessee.  She is #219, and her nickname is Angelica for a mountain flower.  Her mother had been hit by a car and had to be euthanized.  Like Derby, she had been in the wild for almost nine months and is a wild little bear.  Because she only weighed 16 pounds she was housed in the Cub Nursery temporarily.

Angelica Bear with stuffed animal in Cub Nursery.

She made it clear that she did not like being indoors and in a cage, and displayed stress as she climbed the sides of the cage.  Curator Coy moved her out into the acclimation pen with Derby so she could at least be outdoors and in a larger space.

Angelica climbs the cage, trying to get up (and out).

It is likely that both of these cubs will be outdoors in the Wild Enclosure before long.  We probably won’t see any more photos until that time, as the curators are trying to let them relax a bit and rest withoug interference.