The cub was found crying by a passerby and was taken in by wildlife officials before being introduced to a new family.
A mama bear in Tennessee adopted a seven-week-old cub that was found crying at the side of the road after its birth mom was killed by a car. The orphaned bear cub was found by a passerby in the Cherokee National Forest in Cocke County, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency said on Facebook. The cub was then taken in by the Appalachian Bear Rescue before they attempted to introduce him to a new mother. Wildlife officers had come across the mama bear, who was nursing two healthy cubs of her own, just a week before. This particular female had adopted orphaned bear cubs in the past. Bear cubs can survive without their mothers from about five months old, however, until then, they are totally dependent on their mothers. Bears are fiercely protective of their young —and while it is not unheard of for female bears to adopt young cubs, it is still a rarity.
