WEIGHT: 5 lbs

The Department of Natural Resources brings Baby Bear to her new home at Yellow River Wildlife Sanctuary.

WEIGHT: 9.8 lbs

Baby Bear’s arrival is announced to the public. While living “behind the scenes,” the staff focuses on improving her health and allowing her to adjust to new surroundings.

WEIGHT: 15.6 lbs

With the help of all her fans, Baby Bear is officially named BlueBeary. Blueberries have been one of her favorite foods and something most bears naturally feed on in the wild.

WEIGHT: 18.8 lbs

Confident that BlueBeary is healthy and thriving at this point, she makes her public debut during our “After Hours” event. This opportunity allowed us to witness her reaction to small groups of people and activity from the safety of a temporary enclosure.

So happy she loves to play in the water! As part of the slow introduction to the adult bears, BlueBeary is sharing the night house, separated by the added boards between runs. This allows everyone to acclimate to each other’s sounds and smells in a safe way.

Clearly starting to outgrow her space, we create a separate play yard for BlueBeary so she can start to enjoy some of the Bear yard.

BlueBeary is getting a little big for her keepers to carry, but she gladly follows them if they offer er favorite treat!

Our hearts were filled on this Valentine’s Day as we watched BlueBeary explore and thoroughly enjoy her first experiences in the Bear yard. It will be a little longer until she’s big enough to join the other bears, but for now, having the pool to herself will do!