On July 11, a young bear cub was found, along a road in Fauquier County, beside her deceased mother. Rescuers contacted the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, and the bear was admitted the following morning to the Wildlife Center of Virginia.
Dr. Marit, one of the Center’s veterinary interns, examined the cub when she arrived and found that the bear was quiet but alert. The cub was a little thin, with a body condition score of 2/5, and weighed in at 5.5 kg – much smaller than the other four cubs currently in the Center’s care. The bear didn’t have any injuries, though had a heavy burden of ticks, particularly around her ears and front legs. A skin scraping revealed several Ursicoptes mange mites.
The team treated the bear with an anti-parasitic and gave subcutaneous fluids before setting her up in a Zinger crate. The rehabilitation staff placed the crate in the vestibule area of the Large Mammal Isolation enclosure, so the cub could see and hear the other bear cubs, though the new cub will remain separate until she is parasite-free. The bear was tagged with a green identification tag in each ear.
On July 13, the rehabilitation staff gave additional topical anti-parasitic medications. The staff are offering the bear a variety of fruits, vegetables, nuts, and insects, along with a mush bowl of thickened bear cub formula.