Orphaned Bear Cub “Tahoe,” is Doing Well, Making Happy “Chortling” Noises

Tahoe the adorable bear cub – who created a buzz on the Internet after she was mysteriously dropped off in the driveway of the Bear League in Tahoe two weeks ago – is doing well.

Thirteen-week-old Tahoe is currently under the care of Tom and Cheryl Millham, who run the Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care.

According to videos posted online by the LTWC, Tahoe is making “chortling” sounds, which they described as “a sound bear cubs make when they are happy.”

Tahoe is also growing up fast. When she first arrived at LTWC on April 15, she weighed only 5.4 lbs. On April 29, after two weeks of care and special formula, she weighed 7.7 lbs.

According to Tom Millham, Tahoe is getting more stable “on her paws” every day. She now drinks 12 ounces of formula from a bottle inside a stuffed duck so as to limit any direct human contact, Millham said.

“All in all, she is progressing very nicely,” Millham said. “We will start working on getting her on a bowl with formula within the next few days and begin introducing her to soft foods (grapes, watermelon, peaches, etc).”

The mystery of where Tahoe appeared from may have been solved when an anonymous caller told the Bear League that he had rescued the cub after finding her “crying and hugging” her dead mother near the Humbolt Redwoods State Park.

The caller didn’t know the cause of the mother’s death. When he notified authorities, he was told to leave the cub alone.

But his conscious wouldn’t let him leave it alone and he brought it to the Bear League. Ann Bryant, Bear League’s director, took the cub to LTWC.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife will be running DNA from Tahoe’s hair and blood to try and pin down her origins. Once that’s revealed, LTWC will get her ready for the big world.

To stay updated on how Tahoe is doing visit LTWC's Facebook page.

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