Yona’s new home

On January 15, Yona made the journey to her new home in the bear habitat at the North Carolina Museum of Life and Science  in Durham.  She is joining another ABR bear, Mimi, that was unreleasable a few years ago.  

The mission of ABR is to rehabilitate and release bear cubs back into the wild, which we do following the rules and regulations of TWRA (Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency).  These rules require that there be no human contact, to prevent the release of potential nuisance bears.  In the case of Yona and Mimi, human interference at a very early age before they came to ABR, and in Yona’s case the special handling required when she first arrived at ABR prevented them from having the necessary wild behavior to survive in the wild.  We are very happy that Yona has found a permanent home in North Carolina.

Yona as she looks today.

 

News of Wilderness Wildlife Week

Recently we wrote about this event that takes place in Pigeon Forge, TN each January.  ABR had a display table at the event staffed by education volunteers. ABR volunteers also presented several programs, including PowerPoint programs for all ages and  hands-on activities for children.  One volunteer, Joey Holt, also led hikes during the week.

A Sevierville TN artist, Katherine Tucker, allowed us to display two of her paintings of bears at our table during the event.  The paintings attracted many people to our exhibit.  The photo below shows the paintings by this talented artist.

Katherine Tucker's paintings on display

Katherine decided to hold a drawing for a limited edition print of one of these paintings, “The Gatekeeper.”  After the drawing, she generously donated the proceeds to ABR for the care of the cubs that will spend the winter at our facility.

Katherine Tucker with "The Gatekeeper."

A young visitor at the event drew the winning ticket.  It belonged to Warren DeVine of Oak Ridge, TN .  Ms Tucker will deliver the print in person.  We thank Katherine for her generosity to the bear cubs.

 

ABR cub moving to NC

One of the ABR cubs, a female from Tennessee, will be moving to the Museum of Life + Science in Durham, NC this month.  She was so young and small when she arrived at ABR that she required more special handling than usual, and as a result became too habituated to be released into the wild.  Fortunately the Durham museum, which has a live bear display, had room for her.  She will join Mimi, another ABR bear that was unreleasable a few years ago.   The Museum of Life+ Science is excited about her arrival, as shown in this blog post, which includes photos of her as she looked when first at ABR and now, as a beautiful 75-pound bear.

 

Wilderness Wildlife Week

The 20th annual Wilderness Wildlife Week will take place in Pigeon Forge, TN from Saturday, January 9th through Saturday, January 16th.  This event is always very popular with anyone who is interested in wildlife, hiking, and anything to do with the outdoors.  You can learn about the event and the programs offered here.  Best of all, the entire event, including programs and hikes, is FREE!

ABR will be well represented, with a display in the exhibitors area and 6 programs offered during the week.  See the program schedule by clicking on the link above. 

Here is what ABR did at the 2009 Wilderness Wildlife Week.  

If you can get to Pigeon Forge between the 9th and 16th of January, visit us and enjoy the activities!  Be sure to stop by the ABR booth and say “Hello!”

 

4 Cubs Released; Now there are 12

Despite the nasty weather on Friday, December 18, ABR Curator Lisa Stewart and TWRA wildlife officers prepared 4 Tennessee cubs for release into their new wild homes.  The 4 cubs, all males, weighed in at 76 pounds, 106 pounds, 142 pounds, and 145 pounds!  They were in great shape and have plenty of bulk to allow them to survive in the wild.

Their departure does not end our cub rehabilitation for 2009, however – far from it.  Our current residents include 2 females from Louisiana, 4 cubs from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, and 6 Tennessee cubs, 2 of which are very small and were admitted earlier in December.

This has truly been a year to remember, as we have cared for more cubs than ever before in a single year.  The Park cubs are expected to be released in January, but several of the others will spend the winter at ABR, where they will construct their own dens within the enclosure.

Our ongoing expenses are great.  If you can make a year-end donation to ABR, we would be very grateful.  Please remember that we are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and your donation is tax-deductible.  To make a donation online, visit our website and click on “Donations.”  Thank you!

 

First Grade Authors!

The first graders  at Mary Blount Elementary School in Maryville, TN adopted 5 ABR cubs this year.  The children collected acorns and hickory nuts (over 300 pounds!) to feed the bears, and collected money to care for the orphaned cubs (over $300!).  In addition, one of the classes wrote and illustrated a book about their cub, which they named “Fluffy.”  Mrs. Falcon, their teacher, said that the project was a valuable learning experience.  Each child wrote a story and illustrated it, and these stories made up the book, which was dedicated to ABR.    Many of the bear facts that they had learned were included in their writing. 

Mrs. Falcon and her first graders

 

Our book with Fluffy on the cover!

 

ABR visits Eagleton Elementary School

Friday the thirteenth was a lucky day for students at Eagleton Elementary School in Maryville, TN.  Three volunteers from ABR visited the school and presented bear education programs to each grade level.  The school “adopted” an ABR bear cub, which they decided to name Raven, for their school mascot.  The volunteers presented a framed photo and an “adoption certificate” that will be on display in the office.  For the next couple of weeks, there will be a school-wide drive to collect coins to help feed the bear cub.  These photos were taken during the visit.

Joey Holt talking to primary students

 

Joey also talked to upper grade students

 

Students react to bear scat

 

A win-win website for ABR supporters!

Common Kindness (www.commonkindness.com) is a website that you can visit and support ABR while saving money yourself.  It works like this:

Become a Member of CommonKindness

1. Sign in to select your charities (of course you will select Appalachian Bear Rescue)
2. Clip coupons to save money on many different items, including groceries
3. Companies pay an advertising fee to CommonKindness
4. CommonKindness shares 60% of its profits or 20% of revenue, whichever is greater, with the charities you select – at no cost to you!

This is how you can make a difference for ABR and our bear cubs.  Thank you!

 

Arkansas cubs go home!

On Tuesday, November 10th an Arkansas wildlife officer picked up the 3 AR cubs.  He took them to an area in Arkansas that has abundant bear food and plenty of potential den sites.  The male cub weighed 72 pounds, one female weighed 62 pounds, and the other female weighed 85 pounds.  These are good weights for successful hibernation.  All 3 cubs were displaying typical wild bear behavior, which pleased the Arkansas officer.  We at ABR wish these cubs well as they return to their Arkansas habitat .

 

Unicoi County Cub at ABR

In the most recent cub update post, we told about a cub that was hit by a car in Unicoi Count, TN.  That incident was well documented by local news media.  This article has a photo of the K-9 officer with the Unicoi County Sheriff’s Department with the young bear.  Because the bear had a head injury, he couldn’t be taken to UT, as stated in the article, but was brought directly to ABR for rest and recovery.  He is expected to make a full recovery and should be ready for release by the end of the year.