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A team of local wildlife watching guides fastened a happy ending onto a heartbreaking situation over the weekend by rescuing a tiny baby black bear that was stubbornly refusing to leave its dead mothersa国际传媒檚 side.
John Forde and Jennifer Steven co-own The Whale Centre in Tofino and, when the husband and wife team received a report of a bear cub hanging around a deceased adult bear in Ross Pass on Friday, they immediately headed out to investigate, discovering the tragic scene around 5 p.m.
sa国际传媒淲e got up there and the little cub was hanging around the mom and was a little too skittish and spooked and went up to the top of one of the trees,sa国际传媒� Forde told the Westerly News.
He said he and Steven returned for another rescue effort early Saturday morning.
sa国际传媒淭he little cub was laying on its mother. Jen dropped me on the rocks a little ways away and I snuck around and slowly went up and, this time, she didnsa国际传媒檛 run away. She actually went back and used [her] mom as protection and I was able to capture her and carry her back down and onto the boat,sa国际传媒� he said.
sa国际传媒淚t was a tiny little cub. Probably three to four months old, so really small, but still big claws and teeth and all the rest of thatsa国际传媒t sort of growled and complained at first and then clawed onto me and just held on and I was able to get a hold of it and get her back. It was pretty cool.sa国际传媒�
He said he knew if he could not grab the cub, it would not survive the wild on its own.
sa国际传媒淎ll I wanted to do was be super calm and not spook it, so that I had the chance to capture it because I knew that, if I couldnsa国际传媒檛 get a hold of this bear, if it kept eluding me, it was going die up there. It would have no other hope to survive,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 all I was thinking. I wasnsa国际传媒檛 really concerned about anything else. I had thick gloves and long sleeve jacket on so I wasnsa国际传媒檛 too concernedsa国际传媒ut when it started crawling up onto my back, I was just going, sa国际传媒極h man, donsa国际传媒檛 bite me now.sa国际传媒�
In a blog posted to The Whale Centresa国际传媒檚 website, Steven recalled the young bearsa国际传媒檚 distress.
sa国际传媒淚t was screaming. My heart was breaking listening to its screams but I knew this was its only chance to survive,sa国际传媒� she wrote.
The bear was brought back to Tofino and handed over to the B.C. Conservation Officer Service in Port Alberni, which then took it to the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre in Errington where it will be raised with the intent of releasing it back into the wild once itsa国际传媒檚 ready, according to Forde.
He said it was the first time he had ever handled a bear and he was happy to help give this one a chance at survival.
sa国际传媒淚t just makes your heart glow. It makes you feel like yousa国际传媒檙e doing something good in this world especially with all the bad things out there,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 just part of my nature to do that. Isa国际传媒檝e always felt close to animals and wildlife. A poor helpless little thing like that; Isa国际传媒檓 not one to just sit back and not help. Thatsa国际传媒檚 not me.sa国际传媒�
He added the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre plans to release the bear back to where it was rescued from and he encourages locals to look into the organization and consider donating.
sa国际传媒淭heysa国际传媒檙e making a difference,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淓verybody moves out here because they enjoy the wildness and the wilderness and these guys are doing a good thing to help animals out.sa国际传媒�
Trevor Chester, an Animal Care Technician with the Recovery Centre, told the Westerly Monday morning that the bear is doing well, but is malnourished.
sa国际传媒淚t was definitely underweight when it came in. Wesa国际传媒檙e not sure how long itsa国际传媒檚 mom had passed away, but itsa国际传媒檚 definitely underweight so itsa国际传媒檚 been alone for some time at least. So, thatsa国际传媒檚 the situation we have right now,sa国际传媒� he said adding the small animal is being fed a special milk-formula designed for bear cubs.
sa国际传媒淭he care is a little bit more hands-on, at least at first. But, we want to get them away from us as soon as possible so that they donsa国际传媒檛 become habituatedsa国际传媒e want to get them on their own as soon as possible so that we donsa国际传媒檛 have to be physically feeding them and so they donsa国际传媒檛 think that wesa国际传媒檙e sa国际传媒榤om.sa国际传媒� The sooner we can get them eating on their own, the better. Thatsa国际传媒檚 the goal. Then we can lead them on their own and they can start learning to be a bear.sa国际传媒�
He said the centre hopes to release the bear back into the wild in about a year-and-a-half.
sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 about how long they would stay with mom until theysa国际传媒檙e on their own in the wild. So thatsa国际传媒檚 generally how long they stay here, until theysa国际传媒檙e old enough to be able to fend for themselves,sa国际传媒� he said.
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