Huggy (Brown Bear)'s Story

Huggy arrived at Turpentine Creek Wildlife Refuge (TCWR) with 33 other animals during the Colorado Project of 2016-2017. TCWR acquired a closing, 12-acre roadside establishment with 115 animals living in deplorable conditions with minimal veterinary care. Due to health issues, the previous owner needed to find a new home for all the animals he had acquired. Many of the enclosures had access doors made of rotting plywood and a padlock meant to contain these apex predators. Additionally, they existed on compacted dirt and woodchips, with little shade from the glaring eastern Colorado sun. Our team worked on-site for six months and collaborated with other accredited Global Federation of Animal Sanctuaries (GFAS) sanctuaries to transport and provide lifelong refuge to these animals. During this period, TCWR assisted in founding the Big Cat Sanctuary Alliance (BCSA) to unite accredited sanctuaries for future rescues and to educate and provide awareness to the public about the plight of the growing wild cat crisis.

Huggy lives in one of two natural black bear habitats TCWR completed in 2018. The concept behind these state-of-the-art habitats was to completely fence in a large area – about an acre per habitat – so that the black bears in captivity could behave like the native bears in Arkansas. TCWR animal caretakers still provide Huggy daily food, maintain his in-ground pool, and monitor him closely. Huggy’s favorite enrichment is cardboard boxes and tubes. Sometimes, he can be found with the boxes on his head or throwing them around and chasing after them. He likes to lounge in his pool in the summer months and baths from the hose as his keepers clean his night house.