Just days after Appalachian Bear Rescue in Townsend released four cubs back into the wild, two tiny neonate male cubs, just days old, will be arriving here.
The two males weighing less than a pound each were first taken to University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine after being found by some residents cleaning up after a storm on their Blount County property Wednesday. The couple was removing a large downed tree when the mother bear emerged; frightened by the noise of the chainsaw and the couples’ large dogs, she took off for the nearby woods.
The property owners then discovered the tiny male cubs, now motherless. They waited for as long as they could to see if the momma bear would return, but she did not. The residents took the newly born cubs inside where they could warm up, and called Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and ABR. The brothers have not yet opened their eyes.
The helpless newborns were taken to UTCVM and are in good condition, said Dana Dodd, executive director of ABR. She said the momma bear may not come back; she was likely a young, first-time mother. Dodd surmises that since that tree where she chose to den had only been there a couple of weeks. The momma bear waited until the last minute to find a den, Dodd said.