California wildlife officials are calling the survival of five orphaned black bear cubs this past winter a 'massive win.' That's because of an experimental change-of-season release strategy that could help captive bears in the long run.
The bears were captured in northern California and were released last November. There were two female siblings from Nevada County and male triplets from Calaveras County. Based on GPS collar data, the bears successfully established dens, hibernated during the winter, and
reemerged this spring.
"The ultimate goal is to get wild animals back into the wild. Not into a zoo, not some other setting, but return these wild animals back to the wild."
Peter Tira with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife says historically, cubs are kept in rehabilitation facilities until the spring. He added, "there's a lot of water on the landscape, when there's a lot of food resources on the landscape to make their transition to the wild a little easier."
But with successes in Washington and Nevada, CDFW began to test the fall releases for their cohort of bears. Tira says the fall season allows cubs to drastically reduce their time spent in a facility over the winter, teaching them natural survival skills that can’t be learned in a cage. It also keeps them uncomfortable around humans.
Tira said, "Probably the ultimate survival skill Black Bear can have in California is the healthy fear of human beings."
CDFW hopes to have more release opportunities later this fall.