In the last two posts, we shared the good news about the release of seven of the yearlings back into the wild.  Today we’ll tell you about four more.  These little bears were all released on April 11th.  There were additional releases on the next couple of days that we will cover later.  Thanks for your patience.

Shelby Bear came to ABR in November 2015, weighing 7.7 pounds.

Shelby spent some time in the Cub Nursery.

Her February 2016 “portrait” showed how much she had grown!

By March she was almost ready for her release day.

Shelby had grown!  When she was weighed for release, her weight was 57 pounds! Almost a 50-pound weight gain.

Shelby was weighed and measured.

Shelby had healthy teeth because of the good nutrition she received at ABR.

She was loaded into the transport cage for her trip back to the wild.

Flora Bear was also released on April 11th.  She had come to ABR in November, when she weighed just 10 pounds.

Flora was examined at the UT vet school.

She was in the Acclimation Pen at ABR.

As soon as she finished her meds, Flora was in the Wild Enclosure.

By January, Flora was looking healthy. She ate well.

Flora had become a Chubby Cubby as she foraged her way through February.

Flora Bear was ready to be released back into the wild!

Flora was carried to the release staging area.

Flora weighed 62.5 pounds!

Flora also had a healthy mouth and healthy teeth.

Flora’s exam showed that she was ready to return to the wild.

The next yearling to be worked up was Zellie Bear.  Zellie arrived at ABR in December 2015.

Zellie Bear arrived in December 2015. She weighed 10.6 pounds

Zellie spent some time in The Cub House at ABR.

In an Acclimation Pen, she hid inside the log den.

Zellie was in the Wild Enclosure in February.

Zellie’s “portrait” was taken in February.

Zellie was weighed for release. She weighed 60 pounds!

Unfortunately, just after that photo was taken, the camera stopped working.  We don’t have a good photo record of her workup, nor of the yearling who came after her on April 11th.  The workups follow the same procedure, so you can imagine the rest.

Zellie Bear as she looked shortly before her release. Good luck, Zellie!

The next yearling to be prepared for release was Chestnut Bear. She came to ABR in November 2015 and weighed 19 pounds.  She’d been orphaned due to a traffic accident.

Chestnut being examined at UTCVM.

The following photos of Chestnut show her growth during her stay at ABR.  Unfortunately we don’t have a photo record of her workup and preparation for release.

She was released to a Wild Enclosure in December 2015.

She thrived in the Wild Enclosure, as this February photo shows.

By March, she was looking like a Chubby Cubby.

The final photo of Chestnut is fitting, we think – Goodbye, Chestnut Bear!

Chestnut was ready to leave for her life in the wild.

We will share more releases and some other news in our next post.  As always, we hope for long, happy and free lives for all of our released yearlings