Published: Sunday, May 26, 2020
Credit: Pixabay/CC0 public domain
Officials say that two orphaned Black Bears, which had been rehabilitated at the Ramona Wildlife Center of the San Diego Humane Society for nearly a year, have now been released into the wild.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife rescued the brother bears last July after their mother died in the San Bernardino Mountains. It was determined that the two 5-month-old undersized cubs would not be able to survive on their own.
The bears were released on May 15 after nearly a year in the Ramona Wildlife Center. They were found near the original location.
Andy Blue, campus manager of the wildlife centre, said that raising wild bears is a delicate art. Bears consume more than 10 pounds per day. To ensure that they are fed without ever seeing our staff, and to provide them with enough enrichment so they can exhibit their natural behavior without leaving behind human scents, requires meticulous planning.
Soon after the state officials had taken the malnourished cubs to Ramona, they began their journey to return to their native habitat. Blue stated that one bear weighed 12 lbs and the other 15 lbs. The typical weight of a Black male bear at this age is 25 pound.
Blue stated that “in the wild, these animals would have been preyed on by coyotes and mountain lions.” They were the smallest animals I’ve ever seen in our facility.
The bears were brought to the wildlife animal clinic to be fed and treated. Officials said that once the bear cubs had recovered to the satisfaction of the specialists, they were put together in an enclosure with native plants and mimicked their natural habitat.
The enclosure enabled the bears learn to forage, eat and mix a variety of food, including fruits, nuts, peanuts, and bear chow, every day. A family from Escondido also donated to the wildlife center a homegrown 467-pound pumpkin for the bears.
The veterinarians at the center also made sure to reduce contact with the bears in order for them not to become habituated.
Blue explained that they don’t like to associate with a truck pulling up and having food on the back. “We have to be creative and use remote feeders which spread the food around the enclosure.”
The bears have gained 80 pounds during their rehabilitation and are now on the path to reaching full size, which is 400 pounds.
After the vets cleared them, the bears received GPS collars, were microchipped and returned to the wild in early this month.
The center receives approximately 1,000 wildlife patients each year, including six more bear cubs by 2022 and an infant mountain lion earlier this season.
Blue stated that these cases are extremely rewarding. They were orphans when they came to us, and we invested a lot of time and effort into them. It is a wonderful feeling to see them released back into nature.”
The San Diego Union Tribune, 2024 Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.