I have never done this before, but I think it's important that you get this story directly from those responsible for saving these two beautiful black bear cubs this weekend. The following has been cut and pasted from their original Newsflash posted on the Facebook page of Appalachian Bear Rescue. Enjoy and follow them on Facebook to watch the progress of these two little beauties. Please consider making a donation to help them in this important work. Their donation link is at the end of their article.
Late last night, we got the call we’ve been dreading and anticipating. A dispatcher from the North Carolina National Park Service reported her office had received multiple reports all day from concerned citizens regarding two cubs, apparently alone, seen on the side of a road. There was no sign of the mother and the dispatcher wondered if ABR could come to investigate. Yes, we could!
Curator Coy and Curator Janet, chauffeured by ABR President, Dana Dodd, left the ABR facility at 1:15 am to make the 2 1/2 hour trip to the dispatchers office at the Blue Ridge Parkway Headquarters in North Carolina. The two sibling cubs, one female and one male, were in reasonably good health considering they’d been alone for many hours. They are 2015 bears, meaning they’re about two months old. Coy and Janet went right to work: the male cub appeared lethargic at first, but responded with huffs and blowing when picked up. Good wild bear behavior! The cub took to his bottle of apple-flavored Pedialyte instantly. The female had to be fed by syringe.
The cubs were loaded into a single carrier for the trip back to the ABR facility, arriving at the Cub Nursery at 7:30 am.
Curator Janet reports:
#202 - Female
3.30 lbs.
Syringe fed by Coy at 4:30 a.m. (19 ml)
Took bottle successfully from Janet at 7:50 a.m. (14 ml)
#203 - Male
3.59 lbs.
Bottle fed by Janet at 4:30 a.m. (15 ml) and again at 7:40 a.m. (15 ml)
“The male is gentle and calm, but will huff and blow at curator when approached.
The female is feisty and smacks and blows at curator when approached. She is also a biter, but thankfully, doesn't have her big girl teeth in yet! The cubs have natural, wild, instincts that tell them to be wary of humans. We don't know what happened to their mama, but she did a good job teaching them to be wild little bears. Coy and I will make sure that we do not do anything to compromise that.
Both cubs are resting together, snuggled up to a stuffed bear cub in the Cub Nursery. Since they have had two feedings of Pedialyte thus far, they will be left to rest and settle in to their new environment for the next few hours. I will be watching and listening via the baby bear monitor.”
We’re naming Cub #202 Bonnie Blue, and her brother, Cub #203, Ridgeway in honor of the place where they were found.
We thank the citizens who first reported their concern without intervening directly with the cubs. We thank the person who stayed until the Park Ranger arrived. We thank the Park Ranger who went out late at night to secure the cubs for us. We’re grateful to the Park dispatcher who called us and remained at her post for hours after the end of her shift to make certain the cubs were safe. We thank the various Wildlife Offices and agencies who agreed readily to wave protocol on a holiday weekend to ensure that these cubs might be saved. This is what compassion look like. This is the form it takes: good people doing good things! Thank you!
http://www.appalachianbearrescue.org/donations.htm
Curator Coy and Curator Janet, chauffeured by ABR President, Dana Dodd, left the ABR facility at 1:15 am to make the 2 1/2 hour trip to the dispatchers office at the Blue Ridge Parkway Headquarters in North Carolina. The two sibling cubs, one female and one male, were in reasonably good health considering they’d been alone for many hours. They are 2015 bears, meaning they’re about two months old. Coy and Janet went right to work: the male cub appeared lethargic at first, but responded with huffs and blowing when picked up. Good wild bear behavior! The cub took to his bottle of apple-flavored Pedialyte instantly. The female had to be fed by syringe.
The cubs were loaded into a single carrier for the trip back to the ABR facility, arriving at the Cub Nursery at 7:30 am.
Curator Janet reports:
#202 - Female
3.30 lbs.
Syringe fed by Coy at 4:30 a.m. (19 ml)
Took bottle successfully from Janet at 7:50 a.m. (14 ml)
#203 - Male
3.59 lbs.
Bottle fed by Janet at 4:30 a.m. (15 ml) and again at 7:40 a.m. (15 ml)
“The male is gentle and calm, but will huff and blow at curator when approached.
The female is feisty and smacks and blows at curator when approached. She is also a biter, but thankfully, doesn't have her big girl teeth in yet! The cubs have natural, wild, instincts that tell them to be wary of humans. We don't know what happened to their mama, but she did a good job teaching them to be wild little bears. Coy and I will make sure that we do not do anything to compromise that.
Both cubs are resting together, snuggled up to a stuffed bear cub in the Cub Nursery. Since they have had two feedings of Pedialyte thus far, they will be left to rest and settle in to their new environment for the next few hours. I will be watching and listening via the baby bear monitor.”
We’re naming Cub #202 Bonnie Blue, and her brother, Cub #203, Ridgeway in honor of the place where they were found.
We thank the citizens who first reported their concern without intervening directly with the cubs. We thank the person who stayed until the Park Ranger arrived. We thank the Park Ranger who went out late at night to secure the cubs for us. We’re grateful to the Park dispatcher who called us and remained at her post for hours after the end of her shift to make certain the cubs were safe. We thank the various Wildlife Offices and agencies who agreed readily to wave protocol on a holiday weekend to ensure that these cubs might be saved. This is what compassion look like. This is the form it takes: good people doing good things! Thank you!
http://www.appalachianbearrescue.org/donations.htm
