Born to be Wild

So before I get onto the really, really good news I should probably tell you all about the two new additions to the shelter.

A few days ago we got a call about two tiny cubs that had been seen alone in the Cranbrook area, which is right in the south of BC, near the US border. Someone went to check it out and they found the cubs in extremely bad shape. They were so small and weak that they could easily be picked up and put in a transport box with no fighting or anything. The female, Jo, weighed 5lbs and the male, Fisher weighed 6lbs. For comparison, Norman who is the same age and still a little underweight weighs 15lbs. They saw a vet as soon as possible and were deemed to be starving, dehydrated and if they hadn't have been found when they were, they most likely wouldn't have survived the night.

From there an intricate mission started to get them to the shelter. We first tried to arrange to get them on a flight straight to Smithers as this would be the quickest way to get them here. However it was a long weekend and the guy in charge who we needed to agree to transporting bears wouldn't be back in the office for another three days and that just wouldn't do. Driving to Cranbrook is a trip that could take anywhere between 15 and 20 hours so we put out a message asking for help and we got several people to drive the bears north so we could meet them in the middle.

It was a huge group effort and the bears are here now. They are eating, but it is clear they have a long way to go. They are severely underweight and I haven't heard one sound come from either of them, which is very unusual.

Jo (left) and Fisher (right) enjoying some milk.

In other (happier) bear news Norman is doing great, we had to move him out of his hospital pen to make room for Jo and Fisher. He protested a bit at first, refusing to drink his milk, instead opting to flip the bowl over and make a mess. He screamed and generally caused trouble until we dragged in a huge hollow log and that seemed to mellow him out a bit. He sits inside there for hours on end, quite content with his new home.

Norman, enjoying his new bed

Finally just a few days ago we released our first black bear, Berwyn. When he arrived at the shelter way back in October he weighed only 40lbs. Unfortunately he didn't gain enough weight to successfully hibernate through the winter, but he steadily grew and when we weighed him a few hours before release, he was up to 106lbs! We drove up into a provincial park, in the same region as where we found him. Along the way we saw two wild black bears, two moose and grizzly tracks, pretty good for a 2 hour drive. Then when it came to release we opened the box and he ran out, ready to explore and continue his life where he is meant to be - In the wild. It was a very emotional experience, having seen him come in as a tiny little bear, taking his little paw prints a few weeks after arriving. I took his paw prints again on release day and they are now as big as my hand. As he ran out of the box i'm not even ashamed to say that I was crying, happy tears of course, but crying all the same. I have suggested that a box of tissues become part of the release kit as i'm sure that i'll be crying on other releases I get to go on.

Bye Berwyn!

I'm a mummy!

No, not like that. Don't have a heart attack mum. I've become a surrogate mummy to Norman the bear cub that arrived a few weeks ago. He is now off bottle feeding and has started eating more fruit, albeit, pureed together to form a kind of mixed fruit smoothie. He still gets milk and porridge and all of those combined have helped him put on another two pounds since he arrived, almost doubling his weight to 4.52lbs.

He has to be fed four times a day. The first feeding being at six in the morning and the last at eleven at night. I have taken the morning feeding slot as i'm up around that time anyway. Yes to any of my family reading this, you read that correctly. I'm a morning person now. I wake up between six and six thirty each morning without an alarm. So It just seemed to make sense that I do the early shifts.

Also because Norman is currently the only small bear cub here, we also have the task of playing with him to allow him to exhibit his natural play behaviours and help develop his physical and mental skills. So for part of each day I become Norman's playmate. I thought he was cute before but seeing this tiny little furball trying to attack my knee or play fighting with his teddy bear is just too adorable. I like to wait until he runs towards me, then with either my hands or a teddy tickle his tummy until he rolls over. He then runs away only to come running back for more. He thinks it's a great game. I also use the teddy when I give him milk. I place the milk bowl down and then put the teddy next to the bowl as if it is drinking the milk. This usually causes Norman to com running over and try to push the teddy away so he can drink the milk himself. This is a great behaviour to have and will help him tremendously when he does get released as he will inevitably face competition in the wild.

Yes I know, I have a tough job. But someone's got to do it right?