After finding a bear cub abandoned in the wild, rescuers are searching for a foster mother to take them in. This little critter, affectionately dubbed “Bits,” was very young when their birth mom disappeared. In fact, they hadn’t even opened their eyes yet! Thankfully, Appalachian Bear Rescue stepped in to help the tiny cub. Experts believe that something scared Mom away from the den. While they track down a new mother for Bits, they’re treating the baby animal in the ICU.
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Unfortunately, rehoming the bear cub will involve more than simply dropping them off at the nearest den. This process will require research and, surprisingly, a bit of deception! First, wildlife officials will have to locate a new mom who has recently given birth. They’ll do this with the help of the University of Tennessee and the National Park Service. Next, they’ll have to sneak Bits into the potential foster mother’s den and make her believe the extra bear cub is one of her own!
“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,” Matt Cameron from the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency explained to WATE.
Bits the bear cub rescue will need a foster mother in order to survive.
Why can’t Bits continue to receive care at Appalachian Bear Rescue? Matt says that a such a small bear cub should be raised by a foster mother rather than human caregivers.
“A young bear cub is much better off with a mother bear acting as a surrogate than it would be in a rehab facility where humans are taking care of it, especially ones that are really, really small like it,” he said. “It’s kinda like a newborn child; they’re fragile and delicate, and so much better with their mother.”
Although the plan to get the rescued bear cub adopted by another family may sound tricky, it’s actually a tried and true method! Wildlife experts are optimistic that they’ll be able to get Bits situated in another den. Here’s hoping that this little bear cub gets a new foster mother soon!
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