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Bear cubs are taught by their mothers to find food, how to make a den, and when they have to hibernate for the winter. But orphaned or abandoned cubs need help learning how to be bears. That’s why wildlife rehabilitation that trains these cubs to be released back into their natural habitats is so important.
Five bear cubs were just released on November 20, 2024 into the wild after summering at the Frisco Creek Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in Colorado, reported USA Today. The cubs were released at separate locations that are near Pagosa Springs, which is close to the border of New Mexico, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Department (CPW) agency said on a Facebook post.
Rescuing bear cubs
The bears were rescued in mid-summer 2024 near Durango, Colorado, reported ABC News. The mother of three of the cubs was found entering a home and the wildlife department had to euthanize her because she was a threat to people. But since the cubs did not go into the home, it was decided that they had the best chance of survival if they went to a rehabilitation facility.
Another cub was seen wandering alone on the property of a resident who called the CPW. Since the cub was too young to be alone, it was also brought to Frisco Creek.
Rehabilitating the cubs
Extreme care is taken at the rehabilitation center to keep the rescued bears wild by not associating with humans. “There’s no talking allowed near bear pens, and the bears never see a person feeding them,” CPW spokesperson Kara Van Hoose told USA TODAY. “They get a feed diet as well as natural foods such as berries and dead fish from a hatchery.”
The cubs were even placed in pens with the slides covered up so they do not see their human caregivers. As the cubs grew, they were placed in larger pens with other rehabbed bears.
When the weather began to change, the diet of the cubs was changed to more sugar and less protein in preparation for winter. “We decrease the feeding as the year goes on to mimic the conditions in the wild and encourage their bodies to go into hibernation,” Van Hoose said. “When they are ready to hibernate, we release them into the wild, so they are able to build their own dens.”
When instincts kick in and the cubs try to den at the center and weigh over 60 to 70 pounds (27 to 32 kilos) they are ready to be released. The cubs will probably den together for the first winter and then go their separate ways in the Spring. Rehabbing bears so they can return to the wild instead of zoos is the best possible outcome.
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