Tennessee: Sick little bear cub rescued by Appalachian Bear Rescue and named Sheldon

TENNESSEE -- Appalachian Bear Rescue added 5 new photos to the album: ABR Newsflash-June 29, 2017 -Rescued Bear #264 Arrives.
June 29 at 10:55pm ·

Earlier today, Curator David received an urgent call about a cub near Townsend in need of help. He met TWRA officers at the site and discovered a little bear at the bottom of a deep ditch, not moving. The cub was very small, very sick… and not alone.

Above the ditch, on a hill, the cub’s mother and its two siblings watched. The mother sent her two healthy cubs (who were three times the size of the sick one) up a tree while she tried to return to her smallest and weakest. But there was nothing more she could do.

This is why we hate to use the word “abandoned”. This mother had tried to take care of her three cubs for five months, and this little cub had tried to keep up with the family, but mother and cub had reached the end of trying: she could do no more and he couldn’t walk another step.

There was no abandonment; this was a family doing its best. It’s a tragedy played out every day, but this time there was an audience that could change the ending.

The cub was transported to the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine and examined by Dr. Sheldon and her team.

It is a male, about five months old, the same age as Otto and Rollo, and weighs six pounds. He was treated for dehydration and very low blood sugar and will be kept at UT’s ICU unit overnight. He is very sick, very weak and may not live. Regardless, he is one of ours now.

Please welcome, Sheldon Bear, named in honor of Dr. Julie Sheldon. It’s her last day at UT and this is the last little ABR bear she will examine. Thank you, Dr. Sheldon.

We also thank the TWRA and the citizens who placed the call. We keep Sheldon’s mother in our thoughts. We will do our best for her cub.

To donate to Sheldon's care and the Appalachian Bear Rescue