The Appalachian Bear Rescue is caring for its third cub of the year.
The four month old bear, named Rollo, arrived at the Townsend-based rescue Tuesday night after being found near a busy road in Jefferson County.
ABR says the bear was alone and appeared weak. A Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officer caught the cub and transported it to the University of Tennessee College of Veterinary Medicine for an intake examination.
On Wednesday, ABR curator David Whitehead said he was feeding the cub every six hours and handling his worm medication.
"This bear was pretty much lifeless," he said. "He's getting more... alive. He's vocal, he's climbing."
He said Rollo was still under high stress.
"It's been through a traumatic experience," said Whitehead. "Obviously it's been loaded in a cage. It's been driven somewhere. So it's a little more vocal, and it's crying a little bit."
It's the rescue group's third cub this season after it took in Otto back in April, who is also now four months old. ABR says the Rollo weighs 5.5 pounds, about half the weight of Otto -- although that is not unusual for a cub living in the wild.
Curators are preparing to introduce the two bears to each other later this week.
"This bear wasn’t happy being handled or confined, and raised such a ruckus that Dr. Sullivan (who thought this was the orneriest cub he’d ever examined) decided there was no compelling reason to take a blood sample," ABR said in a post on its Facebook page.
The bear will stay in ABR's cub nursery for a few days until he finishes his worm medicine and caretakers can see that he is eating and drinking regularly.