Holly
The matriarch, beautiful Holly bear.
Bear News – October 15, 2022
Holly was born in the wilds of Arkansas. At some point in her very early life the state of Arkansas performed a controlled burn in a forest near her den. Holly’s mother abandoned the den most likely due to the smoke. A very kind man found Holly and took her into his home to raise her.
When she was taken away from him at the age of 8 months, Holly was sent to Appalachian Bear Rescue. She was deemed unreleasable and returned to Arkansas. Once back in Arkansas it was determined what her fate might be. Dr. Rogers asked if I would be willing to take on the little bear. I of course agreed and Holly arrived at the NABC on December 27, 2013, in the dead of winter.
She and I formally met in March of 2014. She was very scruffy, feisty and sick. Both she and Lucky were raised on bear rich milk formula that we used to put weight on both she and Lucky.
Dr. Hanson removed the ear tags on April 10th of 2014. Holly has a permanent division in her right ear but we call it her beauty mark.
Dr. Rogers thought that Holly’s ears had been weakened by the large tags and that is the reason they do not stand forward as Tasha’s, Lucky’s and Ted’s do. Occasionally though, they do stand when she is scared or surprised.
Our 9-year-old matriarch rules the enclosure with an iron paw. She has never bothered Ted but she does reassure Tasha that the territory inside the enclosure is hers. The only time I keep the girls apart is during estrus when the 2.5 acres becomes a small battleground as they both seek attention from Lucky bear.
This year the interest of both Holly and Tasha has piqued for the use of the bunker. Time will tell as to who will win this one. At this writing it looks like Holly has the bunker and Tasha the rock den. Please enjoy the pictures of Holly. The interns in the years past have taken some of them. To read more about Holly, click here.
The jack-o-lanterns will be given to the bears today at 2:00pm. I hope you all had fun voting on the jack-o-lanterns, the interns enjoyed carving them.
Thank you for all you do for our bears,
Sr. Bear Keeper, Sharon Herrell
