Harry has been settling in well in her temporary home.

By donating toward our Wildlife Rescue Fund, you can be a part of saving Florida wildlife like Harry. Your support today provides urgently needed investment in Brevard Zoo’s lifesaving conservation programs like this one. Join us by donating toward our Wildlife Rescue Fund on Facebook or at www.BrevardZoo.org/RescueFund. 

We recently helped a harry new Florida black bear cub on their rehabilitation journey. This summer has been busy with rehabilitating orphaned Florida black bear cubs, and Harry, named by the Zoo’s own animal care team for her arrival on the birthday of children’s book hero Harry Potter, is our sixth intake this year. After being observed alone for at least four days by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), this young cub was brought to our Zoo for our advanced skills in caring for orphaned and ill black bear cubs. 

It was immediately clear that Harry was severely underweight, and she was covered in large ticks. Our animal care team got to work giving Harry the appropriate care for her condition. To get her weight up, Harry was fed with a special trickle feeding method, which uses equipment to dispense food at a slow rate. This is done to avoid abnormalities that come from eating large quantities of food after being malnourished for a long time.    

It is also important to note that our animal care team does not interact with any bear cubs face-to-face to discourage comfort around humans. All the teams’ observations are done through cameras strategically placed around the habitat or through the eyes of a ghillie suit, a camouflaged clothing item typically used for hunting.  

Harry was seen cuddling a stuffed bear to fall asleep.

Harry quickly began enjoying the enrichment items provided to her in her new habitat, including cuddling a stuffed black bear cub to fall asleep at night.  

Items such as tree branches, pools and dens were also added to her environment to encourage her to exercise natural bear behaviors like climbing and foraging that will be integral on her journey to return to her native range.  

Harry remained in our care for about a month before becoming healthy enough to be returned to FWC for further rehabilitation with cubs around Harry’s age. She and the rest of the cubs will eventually be released into a forested area.  

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Special thanks to Flammio Financial Group, Stifel-Garvin Wealth Management Group, Artemis IT, and Jim and Darleen Barfield. Their generosity makes our work possible! 

Brevard Zoo is an independent, not-for-profit organization that receives no recurring government funding for our operating costs. Your generous support enables us to continue to serve our community and continue our vital animal wellness, education and conservation programs.