Like his now-famous predecessor, Virginia, the cub was found orphaned in Virginia and was determined by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to be unreleasable.

Museum Animal Department staff and wildlife officials in North Carolina and Virginia devised a plan to place him at the museum as part of its new "Explore the Wild" habitat.

"We're very excited to be able to give this male cub a home," said Sherry Samuels, museum animal director. The cub is currently on a diet consisting of formula, baby cereal, sweet potatoes, apples and bear chow.

The male cub will reside in the museum's indoor "Carolina Wildlife" exhibit for the next three to four weeks. The space features a built-in "pool," drain and "trees" to climb. Later this summer he will move to a behind -the-scenes home until he can join the museum's three female bears in the new outdoor wildlife habitat, "Explore the Wild."

The Museum of Life and Science invites the public to vote to name the new cub amongst a field of three names at www.ncmls.org. Click on "Name our New Bear Cub."

The museum is home to over 130 animals, 60 species and features black bears, red wolves, lemurs, farmyard animals and one of the largest collections of Carolina wildlife in the area.

The mission of the Museum of Life and Science, Durham, is to create a place of lifelong learning where people, from young children to senior citizens, embrace science as a way of knowing about themselves, their community and their world.

The museum is open Monday through Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m. Admission is $9.50 for adults, $7.50 children age 3-12; $8.50 for seniors over 65 or active/retired military; and free for children ages two and younger.