Boston Bear Plays with Panda

Boston Bear is enjoying his new quarters, since his recent move into the outdoor pen.  He has more space, which has seemed to prompt him to be more active than he was in the Cub Nursery.  Curator Janet captured his antics as he played with Panda.  Here is the link to the video.  He is developing his bear skills.  It is interesting to see how he plays roughly with Panda, and yet he doesn’t damage the stuffed bear.  He could easily tear the toy bear to shreds, but he doesn’t do that.  He is boisterous in his play, just like any young “critter,” including the young of our own species!

 

Bennie, Jerry, and Carrie Update

We’ve focused on Boston Bear in the last couple of posts, with his move from the Cub Nursery into an outdoor pen.  Meanwhile, the cubs in our threesome are doing well, growing, and developing in their acclimation pen within the outdoor, wild enclosure.  Here are recent photos of them, doing what bear cubs do – playing, wrestling, and investigating new things.  As you can see, they are really getting to be big little bears – the curators estimate that they are 15+ pounds each now.

Wrestling in the formula bowl

Cubs are curious!

Cubs are persistent

Success!

It is rather amazing that bears are so dexterous, even though we might expect them to be clumsy with those large paws.  Adult bears, too, are able to use their paws to pick up things.

 

Boston Bear’s Big Move!

Boston Bear weighs 10 pounds now (remember, when he arrived on April 23rd he weighed just 3 pounds) and that means he is ready for the next step in his rehabilitation at ABR!  These photos show the procedure for moving him from the Cub Nursery to the outdoor pen in the “donut ring” area.  This is the pen where Bennie, Jerry, and Carrie were housed until recently.  It gives him more space, more opportunity to climb, and most importantly, it gets him outdoors where he should be.

Curator Coy capturing Boston Bear

 

Coy carries Boston into “Donut Ring”

 

Into the new pen he goes

 

Boston in his new home

 

Close-up of Boston in new home

 

 

 

 

 

Look at Boston Bear – he’s growing!

Boston Bear has been at ABR for a little over 3 weeks now, and he is certainly growing! Bears do grow rapidly and put on weight quite fast. I have read that bears and hippos are the mammals that put on fat most readily. He weighed only 3 pounds on arrival, and now he tips the scale at 10 pounds! He is about ready to take the next step and move into the pen that Bennie, Jerry, and Carrie recently vacated when they went to the acclimation pen inside the wild enclosure. Here are photos that show Boston as he looks now – isn’t he becoming a handsome bear?

Boston Bear and friend, Panda

 

More photos of 3 Little Bears in Acclimation Pen

Closeup view

Since we know you enjoy seeing photos of our little cubbies, here are some more images, taken by the ABR photographer, of Bennie, Jerry, and Carrie in their new, larger quarters. According to the curators’ reports, they seem to be thoroughly enjoying their new home.

Climbing is good

3 cubs

 

 

Another move for the Three Little Bears!

It’s true!  Bennie, Jerry, and Carrie Bear are growing and needed more room to explore, climb, and develop their bear skills.  So our curators decided it was time to let them step up to the next level of housing that ABR offers.  They moved the three little bears into the acclimation pen, which is actually within the wild enclosure!  As you can see from the photos, this pen offers much more space and climbing opportunities.  While it’s true that Bennie, Jerry, and Carrie look very small in this new, larger space, it provides more separation from the curators who feed them, thus minimizing human contact even further.  As you know, our goal (and that of TWRA, our permitting agency) is to keep human contact to an absolute minimum, so that their interactions are with each other and not with humans.

Curator Rick just closed the door

 

More climbing places to go higher

Up on the “jungle gym”

Lots of space here

You can see from their expressions that it was a bit scary at first to climb so high, but they quickly adjusted and we hear that our three little bears are becoming more comfortable each day in their new, larger space.  If they were still with their mother in the wild, they would be climbing tall trees at her command, and would stay there until she signaled for them to come down, sometimes after several hours while she foraged on her own for food to keep up her strength and allow her body to continue to produce milk.

 

 

 

 

ABR Cub #4 – Boston Bear!

Boston Bear

Last evening (April 23) TWRA officers brought a fourth orphaned cub to ABR. He is very tiny – almost as small as the Three Little Bears were when they arrived last month. Boston Bear weighs just 3.5 pounds and shows signs of dehydration. In fact, he was found by a water faucet in a residential yard. After consulting with the UT veterinarian, Curator Coy is monitoring him closely and giving Pedialyte to help him regain fluids and electrolytes. In another day, he will try to give little Boston formula. Boston Bear is in the Cub Nursery, in the carrier that Bennie, Jerry, and Carrie recently vacated.

A stuffed bear buddy

Since he is too small to be introduced to Bennie, Jerry, and Carrie, Boston has a stuffed panda bear for company.

Nap time