Black Bear cubs of 2014 update

The veterinary staff has been formulating capture strategy for the seven bears in yard #1 of the Black Bear Complex to prepare for the August 4 release! Because the smaller cubs in the family groups [two yearlings and five cubs] could prove to be more difficult to dart in the very large space, the veterinary team would like to see if the bears can be caught in a large live trap prior to the release date. This will allow the team to safely remove the bears from the half-acre yard and place them in a smaller space for Monday’s darting.

On Saturday, July 26, rehabilitator Kelli and intern Jordan placed two large bear traps in yard #1, just to allow the bears to get used to its presence. The doors of the traps were secured in the open position to allow the bears to safely explore the traps without getting enclosed. The bears wasted no time checking out this new addition, and were not at all afraid of the traps.

 

On Friday, the rehabilitation staff will bait and set the two traps – and will monitor the traps frequently for any bears that are caught. When cubs and/or yearlings are trapped, the team will move the bears to the Large Mammal Isolation enclosure for the weekend. It’s hard to know many bears will be caught in this manner – but the rehabilitation team will continue the trapping attempts throughout the weekend.

On Monday, the yearling bears will be darted, whether they are in they are still in the yard, or have been moved to the Large Mammal Isolation enclosure. It’s likely that the largest cub, #14-0350, will also need to be darted. The staff will assess if cubs that have been trapped and moved to the Large Mammal enclosure can be manually captured and restrained. The bears will be weighed, examined, and ear tagged prior to release.