KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Wildlife officials are going on a mission to find a new home for an abandoned bear cub. It requires sneaking a tiny cub into a bear’s den.
Last week, the Appalachian Bear Rescue took in two cubs, Bits and Nibbles . Their mother had been scared away from her den when the little ones were just days old. The cubs’ eyes were still closed, and they couldn’t walk, so wildlife officials had their hands full.
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Unfortunately over the weekend, Nibbles passed away . Bits is okay, but in the ICU until a new ‘foster’ mother bear can be tracked down. Wildlife officials have to find a new mother’s den and sneak the abandoned cub into the mix, a practice that has surprisingly successful odds.
“Someone will climb up and get inside, get as close as they can, and put that cub in there, and hopefully, the mother will hear another cub and think, well, maybe one of mine has gotten away, and she’ll go up and get it and bring it down there with her,” said Matt Cameron with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency.