An inside look at the world of orphaned bear cubs

By Page H. Gifford  
Correspondent

The Lake Monticello Wildlife Committee presented a program Nov. 23 on orphaned bear cubs, two of which the committee sponsors while at the Wildlife Center of Virginia (WCV).

A total of seven bear cubs were admitted to WCV in February for various reasons including three that were in a den destroyed by construction and the den of another two cubs destroyed by wildfire. Others were abandoned by their mother.

Discussing the process the orphaned bears go through until they can be released back into the wild were Conservation Biologist and Outreach Coordinator Alison Meredith and Wildlife Rehabilitator and “bear mom” Kavya Parsa. For those unfamiliar with the Virginia Wildlife Center, located in Waynesboro, it is a non-profit hospital, rehab, and teaching hospital for wildlife.

The Department of Wildlife Resources determines if bears need medical treatment and rehab and they will contact us,” said Meredith. “Three bear cubs whose den was destroyed by construction were brought to us and weighed only about two pounds and no bigger than large potatoes.” The bears are sedated and then examined. One cub had a fractured leg and a severe laceration. Unfortunately, his condition worsened and he was suffering and the prognosis was not good. The medical team decided that the only humane option was to euthanize the cub.

“This is a last resort, we never want to euthanize unless it is necessary,” Meredith added. The two remaining cubs were young enough to be placed into wild fostering. The DWR locates a suitable foster den and checks whether the mother and cubs are healthy. They found two but the first was not a good candidate with older cubs. At the second den, the mother accepted the cubs. It helped that all the cubs were all the same age.

If unable to go into wild fostering, they stay at WCV for rehabilitation. Parsa explained that humans do not directly play with them and keep contact to a minimum. They set up play areas mimicking a natural environment, such as throwing leaves around for them to play with or having things to climb on to encourage navigating in what will be their natural world when they are released. Even bubble baths help them to become acclimated to water.

“Being omnivores, these cubs love melon and lettuce and we make mush bowls with fruit when they are weaned off formula,” said Parsa.

As the cubs grew older, they began to slowly and cautiously meet one another through a mesh fence. They are quarantined for 14 days  and afterward, they can interact with each other while being monitored. All of them have become friendly and playful, both males and females.

For these cubs, each phase of rehab leads them closer to being released into their natural environment. As they grow bigger, they are given free range in a fenced-in half-acre land which is all-natural for exploration with trees for climbing and areas to forage for food.

During the winter months, contrary to the belief that bears hibernate, in Virginia they do not hibernate because the winters are too warm. Therefore, these cubs will continue rehab until spring when they are released.

When the time comes, the DWR finds suitable habitats for each one throughout Virginia. The team at WCV does not witness the release but the DWR continues to monitor them after the release.