The Bear Without a Smile

On October 22, 1997, the Maryville animal shelter called the Appalachian Bear Center about two orphaned bear cubs that were hanging out at Lambert Acres Golf Course The cubs were sighted the previous day and no mother was to be found anywhere.

The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency was notified and the bears were promptly captured and sent to ABC for rehabilitation. The two cubs were approximately eight months old, one male, one female. In order to more easily record data, the bears were given names after the location at which they were found. Thus, the female bear was given the name "Lam" while her brother was aptly named "Bert". 

Upon arrival the bears were placed under close surveillance to assess their overall condition. Keep in mind, this was back in the day when the center did not have quick and easy access to medical or veterinary care. Observations were noted but usually from a distance. The TWRA officers noted that the male cub was eating just fine but the female looked "a little sickly". Soon afterwards it was determined that "Bert" was healthy enough to be placed down in the main holding pen, however, we decided to keep a close eye on "Lam" until we could figure out exactly what was wrong with her.  

Over the next 36 hours she refused to eat and appeared to be losing strength. Fearful of her condition, we called upon Dr. Ed Ramsey of the University of Tennessee Veterinary School. Because she was so small (only 11 pounds at the time) it was difficult to administer the anesthetic. Young animals like this could easily be overdosed so special care was taken. Keep in mind and 11 pound bear still puts up a good fight! Unfortunately, Dr. Ramsey had a few scratches to verify this.

At first we were stumped as her body appeared to be in good condition. There were no apparent external injuries such as open wounds or broken bones. However, when we were inspecting her muzzle we found a couple of small puncture ones that appeared to be bite marks, probably from another bear or someone's dog. When Dr. Ramsey opened the bear's mouth we knew right away the cause of her troubles. Most of her front teeth were either missing or falling out!

The poor bear couldn't smile even if it wanted to!

Upon seeing this, the bear was immediately sent to the veterinary hospital for x-rays and additional tests.

Lam just prior to release, the only visible sign

of previous injury, a shaved forehead.

Fortunately, there was not as much damage as first expected. The apparent bite wound on her muzzle caused a severe infection in her mouth causing her front teeth fall out. What really saved her though, was the fact that the majority of the rotted teeth were her baby teeth. With a little time and special treatment adult her adult teeth would soon grow in. All she needed were some antibiotics, a liquid diet, and a safe place to recuperate.

Kathy Wells, one of our board members, was an infant care nurse and had a special knack for caring for extremely small and frail bears. She volunteered to keep a close eye on "Lam" while she recovered. With in a week, "Lam" was gaining strength and would soon join her brother in the main enclosure.

After five months of care at the bear center, "Lam" was ready to go. On March 19, 1998, she was captured down in the pens and given another thorough check-up. This time, she was a young, healthy and chubby bear.  She was placed in a transport cage in the care of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency and along with her brother was released into Cherokee National Forest.

I have no doubt she was smiling wide when the door to her cage was raised.