THE Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation says he rescued a black bear cub found alone and starving near Barrhead, Alta., and is working to nurse it back to health before releasing it back into the wild.
“We believe this bear was born last winter, which means he is less than a year old and really should weigh a lot more. It weighs about 35 pounds, and the bears we released this fall, which were the same age, were about three times that weight,” said AIWC spokesperson Scottie Potter. “So he is extremely thin, very emaciated and very alone.”
AIWC staff suspect that the cub’s mother was killed and that without her help it was unable to find food or gain enough weight to go into hibernation.
He was brought to the center – located near Madden, northwest of Calgary – by officers from Alberta Environment and Protected Areas on December 9.
Without their intervention, he would have died of starvation.
“A bear that doesn’t hibernate will have a really hard time finding food and the amount of calories needed to keep its body moving. Here we are able to give him all the food he would need to survive the winter without hibernating,” Potter said.
The Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation says when the orphaned cub was brought to them, it weighed only about 15 kilograms, just a third of the size of a healthy cub of the same age.
AIWC
Due to his emaciated state, the center staff are gradually reintroducing him to food.
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“He’s going to be on what’s called a rescue feeding program to get used to food again,” Potter said. “This is to avoid what is called refeeding syndrome. It’s a bit like a shock to the metabolic system when nutrients are first introduced after an animal is starved. This can be very dangerous.
The staff will start by feeding the little one eggs, then eventually introduce him to meat, fruits and vegetables until he has a normal diet.
He will also be kept in a specially designed enclosure with space to climb and a den and great care will be taken to prevent him from becoming accustomed to his caregivers.
“Our care team will prepare puzzles and other things to allow him to see if he is able to acquire the food in them and we want to make sure that he generally reacts to people like any other another bear,” Potter added.
In August, the AIWC opened its doors a new bear enclosure, called Bear Den, to help raise orphaned bears.
The Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation opened a new bear enclosure called the Bear Den in August to help raise orphaned cubs until they can be returned to the wild.
AIWC
If all goes as planned, the little one will be released into the wild in June 2025.
“We usually release our bears that have stayed over the winter in June, which gives him plenty of time to gain all the weight he will need,” Potter said. “Plus, we release them after the spring bear hunt, which is not a survival factor and gives them the best chance of survival once they return to the wild.”
The center is also appealing to the public to make donations to help care for the little one using information available on the AIWC website.
The cub will be kept in a specially designed enclosure and AIWC staff say precautions will be taken to prevent it from becoming accustomed to its caregivers before it is released into the wild in June 2025.
AIWC
The Government of Alberta “Rehabilitation of orphaned black bears” The policy recommends that anyone who sees a cub without its mother should leave it alone, as mothers often abandon their cubs for a period of time to look for food or a safe habitat – and the mother may still be nearby even if she cannot. not be seen.
If a person sees a bear cub that they strongly believe to be orphaned, they are advised to call their local fish and wildlife officer.
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