Black Bear cub #18-2921 update

On Monday, November 26, Dr. Karra anesthetized Black Bear #18-2921 for follow-up radiographs of the cub’s injured jaw. Dr. Karra reports:

“The bear was sedated in his enclosure and we then brought him down to the clinic for an examination and radiographs. The bear was hesitant to fall asleep with our drugs, but with a few doses went down uneventfully.

“The physical exam showed the jaw fracture is still very stable. The bear is in great body condition and has gained 2.0 kg since the last examination (two weeks ago). The previously noted region of bony proliferation on the jaw with a soft center -- thought to be a possible infection – has greatly improved. A physical exam and radiographs confirmed that the soft ‘center’ of this lesion (the area suspected to be an abscess/infection) is filling in with bone, which is great news, as this will make the jaw stronger and means whatever material was in there is going away.

“The bear’s two lower deciduous (‘baby’) canine teeth were noted to be very loose, which is a good sign that the adult canines underneath are coming in. They were both so loose that we just removed them during the exam. Blood was collected for a routine CBC (complete blood count) and chemistry. We will continue to feed the bear a soft meal for another two weeks to ensure that jaw fracture remains stable and to allow area of lysis to further fill in with bone; after that, the bear should be able to fed normally.

“The bear was stable under anesthesia and recovery was speedy; he recovered completely in the Large Mammal enclosure.”