The Bear that Wouldn't Grow

Much has been written about the Fall of 1997 when it comes to bears living around the Smokies. It was a terrible mast year and bears got into trouble all over East Tennessee. Although it was a horrible year for bears, the mast failure was more or less responsible for launching the bear center into legitimacy. The sudden influx of orphaned cubs resulted in mass media attention and helped establish the center as a one-of-a-kind facility in the nation. The resulting radio-collar study that ensued with the newly released bears solidified the center as a trustworthy research facility as well. Although good stories have been written about the totality of the situation, this story singles out one...a bear given the nickname of "Freeway."

Freeway at the base of her favorite tree.

As you can imagine, "Freeway" was so nicknamed because of her circumstance. She was picked up along the freeway by TWRA officers in late October 1997. She came into the center weighing a mere 12 pounds. Although she was on the small side she was not the smallest addition of that year.  Two other bears had arrived weighing equal to or less than her so nothing appeared unusual about her condition. That is the bad thing about a mast failure, it is an equal opportunity debilitator.

Freeway was given a routine exam and placed in the main bear pens along with the soon-to-be twelve other orphans of that year. As is standard practice, the food was poured on and the bears were left alone. It wasn't until about two months later that I first took notice. There was something different about "Freeway."

Throughout late fall and early winter bears are in a state called hyperphagia. It means their bodies are literally starving for calories, hence they continuously eat. This is a wonderful adaptation, especially if you are looking to gain weight before a long winter's sleep. During this time, substantial weight gains are typical in the bears as they pack in the calories and pack on the pounds. As an example of this phenomenon, two of the bears from that year were admitted in mid-November, and released in early-January after having gained over 40 pounds in a two-month period. That's almost a pound a day! That's like me over Christmas holiday!

This obviously was an ideal situation since we were trying to increase their weight quickly  so they could be returned to the wild as soon as possible. That winter, all the bears were doing great, save one..."Freeway."

She simply wasn't growing.

She literally looked the same size as the day she arrived.

The veterinary exam did not reveal any abnormalities or extraneous parasite loads. She appeared to be a healthy little bear. After discussing the situation with National Park biologist and bear aficionado, Kim Delozier, the only conclusion we came up with was she was simply the runt of her litter. In other words, she was genetically programmed to be a small bear.

Needless to say I tried everything possible, making sure she had rations that far exceeded the normal daily amounts.

She ate... but still she didn't grow.

She remained at the center for almost five months, as long as any other bear from that year. She even behaved like all the other bears though they were three times her size often palling around with another relatively famous bear from that batch, "Houdini".

Houdini was released alongside Freeway.

One by one her pen-mates were released.

And soon there were two. "Houdini" and "Freeway."

Another call to Kim Delozier took place and a decision was made..."They go together!"

What made this a unique decision at the time was that bears were always returned to the general area in which they came. This meant "Freeway" would return to an area in Cherokee National Forest, while "Houdini" would go back to the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Given her situation an agreement was made between the state and federal agencies to allow the bear to be released into the National Park with her pen-mate.

In March of 1998, "Houdini" and "Freeway" were returned to the wild.

They both hit the woods running and never looked back, undoubtedly living the life of happy, free and wild bears.