melt@thedailytimes.com
The arrival of 4-month-old black bear cub Jackie P at Appalachian Bear Rescue on Friday brings the resident total to 10 — with four of them having either broken bones, fractures and a concussion.
ABR Executive Director Dana Dodd said they got the call about Jackie P being spotted in the middle of a road in Sevier County, after 9 p.m. on Thursday. A passing motorist noticed the tiny cub and called Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, she said.
“When TWRA got there, the cub was alive but dazed,” Dodd reported. She said it was taken directly to the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine by Officer Caleb Hardwick to be checked out. No broken bones or obvious injuries were found, Dodd said. The cub did have a concussion and was in shock.
The male cub weighs 6.6 pounds and was given the name Jackie P. He perked up once doctors gave him fluids, Dodd said. “He was able to stand up a little bit. He was wobbly, but he was able to lap formula from a bowl.”
UTCVM was prepared to keep Jackie P overnight, but he recovered enough and was sent on to ABR where he will receive 24/7 care.
This bear is the fourth one in recent weeks to arrive at ABR with various injuries. Last week, on May 29, another cub of the year was spotted, this time near the Tail of the Dragon on Highway 129. She turned up where park rangers noticed her.
“She was walking in circles and was very weak,” Dodd said. There was fear at first Puff might have hydrocephalus, but tests came back negative. This injured bear was also taken directly to UTCVM, where she remains. Great Smoky Mountains National Park wildlife biologist Ryan Williamson did the transport.
Dodd said Puff has a fractured skull and fractured jaw. The head trauma caused her to have a gas bubble in her brain. She is currently receiving medication to reduce swelling and is being fed through an IV. Puff could arrive at ABR this weekend or sometime next week, Dodd said.
Puff was named for a character in the children’s story “Puff the Magic Dragon” since she was found on the portion of the highway called the Dragon. Jackie P is named for the character Jackie Paper, also from “Puff the Magic Dragon.”
SuBearu is one of the other recent arrivals. She has a broken femur and was also likely hit by a car. She came to ABR on May 16 weighing 10 pounds.
ABR Operations Director Greg Grieco was running an errand in Gatlinburg for ABR when the call came in from a postal carrier about this female cub. He went to the site where Subearu was found and got park service personnel to bring him the equipment to catch and transport her. He ended up using his personnel vehicle, a Subaru.
SuBearu has had surgery on her leg. She tore off her bandage and got an infection, Dodd said. The cub got antibiotics and is doing better. She is at ABR in a small enclosure to prevent her from moving around too much while she heals.
“The bone is healing but it will take more time,” Dodd said. Subreau had pins placed in the leg, but the large one has now been removed.
Tots came to ABR in April and she also suffered from a broken bone, her humerus. This female cub also had surgery at UTCVM and is on antibiotics for an infection. She was found in the Big South Fork area. Sound wave treatment was used on her to accelerate the healing process.
“From the looks of her and watching her, you would never think anything was wrong with her,” Dodd said.
ABR has never received so many cubs of the year with injuries, the executive director said. It’s usually been older yearlings. Tests, medications, stays in the ICU — all start to add up, she said. One night in ICU costs ABR about $1,000.
The other bears at this nonprofit facility are Daisy Mae, Duke, Jellybean, Casper, Shadow and Peeps. They are doing well, Dodd said. Jackie P is the 403rd bear treated at ABR. It is their mission to provide care so all can be returned to the wild.
“We have our hands full,” she said.
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