Our Bears - Lucky Del Rio

On April 3rd, the Center received a call from one of our dedicated TWRA officers, David Brandenburg. Officer Brandenburg had received a report of a cub being attacked by dogs in Del Rio, TN, and he was quick to answer the call.

When he rescued the cub from the dog attack (risking injury to himself to save the cub from the dogs), Officer Brandenburg took the cub to UT Veternenary Hospital for examination. Dr. Storm completed the workup and examination and concurred that the Bear should be transferred to ABC.

When Lucky arrived at ABC he was placed in our smaller holding pen which allowed us to closely monitor Lucky during his recovery. Lucky had suffered a previous injury (a broken femur) that had healed and he was now facing the challenge of being severly malnutished and dehydrated. During the exam, ABC learned that Lucky was a yearling and was far underweight. He had apparently gone into hibernation far underweight and had come out of hibernation even more depleted.

Lucky weighed 12 pounds upon his arrival at the Center (normal weight for a yearling is 50-60 pounds) and it was critical that he immediately gain weight and strength in order to overcome the hardships he had recently experienced. Lucky's chances of survival were nil if it had not been for the immediate response and rescue by Officer Brandenburg. When Lucky settled in the pen, he immediately chomped on an apple and a few nuts that had been provided for him but he was so weak that he could not forage for food. After consulting our veterinary staff, ABC decided that the rules had to be altered for Lucky in order to ensure he was getting enough nutrition to begin a positive recovery.

In normal cases, bears in the Center's care are not allowed to associate food with humans. The bears are usually fed and watered by feeding tubes that lead to bowls in the holding pen. But Lucky's case was different. So, for the next 3 weeks, I fed Lucky by placing food directly in front of him and I watched and noted his daily intake. Lucky was fond of apples, pears and berries, but the produce was not going to put the pounds on him. So, I, along with my husband, Mike, experimented with meatballs to entice Lucky's pallet. We made the meatballs from ground dry dog food rolled into moist food. We would fill the centers of the meatballs with goodies like sardines and honey. Immediately, the meatballs were a hit and Lucky began eating eagerly.

His eagerness for food finally gave him the push he needed to start recovering. In the days that followed, Lucky grew stronger and began foraging for his food. He became familiar with the pen's surroundings and hid from me when I entered to place his food. One evening, I decided to give him an extra treat, a sardine on a stick. Yum! I poked the stick through the cage wire and Lucky thought I was too close. He lunged forward and knocked the stick from my hand and sent the sardine flying! Now, that is progress!! So, that night, Mike and I tossed tempting foods throughout the large pen and left a food trail that could be monitored. Then, we went to the holding pen and watched as Lucky walked to the far side.

We opened the pen and offered Lucky the chance to move out into the spacious, natural setting of the large pen. Mike and I watched from behind the blind and Lucky ventured out to his new world!! Now, in normal bear fashion, Lucky has become Mr. Elusive and we only get glimpses of him feeding at dusk. After a few months with ABC, Lucky (and two friends) were released in early October 2003!