After being rehabilitated at the North Island Wildlife Rescue Centre in Errington, six orphaned black bear cubs were released on June 21, near where they were first located.
Derek Downes, animal care superintendent, said it鈥檚 鈥渁 special day鈥� when the bruins are set free.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e a big part of my life, and all of our lives for the time that they鈥檙e all with us,鈥� said Downes. 鈥淭he end goal is to always get them back home where they belong. They stay with us and although it鈥檚 fairly long, it鈥檚 just one stop of their journey back to the wild. We cared for them day in and day out and we want them to have the best chance to survive and we鈥檙e always confident when they鈥檙e released.鈥�
The B.C. Ministry of Forests and veterinarians were at centre to check on the bears鈥� health before they were sedated for transport.
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鈥淚t鈥檚 always gratifying when the comment on the conditions of the coat, the overall body condition and everything, and that鈥檚 how it should be for the cubs,鈥� said Downes. 鈥淭he most important thing is, they鈥檙e acting like wild bears. It鈥檚 a really special thing. There鈥檚 a lot of hard work that goes into it.鈥�
Being released back into the wild, there鈥檚 always a question about how the bears would survive on their own as they have been under the care of the centre. Will they be able to hunt for their food?
鈥淏lack bears don鈥檛 really hunt,鈥� Downes explained. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e typically foragers. They have one of the strongest senses of smell in the whole animal kingdom. So they don鈥檛 have to be taught how to smell. But what we do while they鈥檙e here is enrich them with different scents. We hide food in the enclosure at different spots. So they鈥檙e learning, smelling and following it around. They鈥檙e also natural log grounds in there that harbour insects colonies because black bears eat a lot of insects. That makes a big portion of their protein.鈥�
Downes said black bears will spent six to eight hours foraging to get their calories. And this is why residents should be more conscious of how they dispose off garbage and securing compost.
鈥淭hey can spend hours foraging for garbage,鈥� said Downes. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why it鈥檚 important, as a community, we are bear aware. We have to make sure we鈥檙e doing all the right things to keep our birds wild and to share our beautiful home with them.鈥�
The release of the bears is also a circle of life at the centre, said Downs. Just before the six bears were set free, the centre received two abandoned cubs for rehabilitation and more may be on the way.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 know how many more bears we will get this year,鈥� said Downes. 鈥淲e already got two and they鈥檙e starting their journey.鈥�
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