Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter has begun its annual release of bears into the wild.
Last year, the shelter, located just east of Smithers on the Telkwa High Road, took in 32 black bear orphans and two grizzlies. The first three were released between Kitwanga and Houston last weekend.
Five more will be going out this weekend in the Fort St. John area and for the rest of the month, the Northern Lights team will be on the road.
sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檒l go down towards Williams Lake and [release] bears there, then we have bears in the Prince George region, we have bears up in Telegraph Creek and Dease Lake, over to Jade City as well and then we need to go down to the Rosslyn and Castlegar area and then over to Cranbrook, so wesa国际传媒檙e all over B.C. in the next three weeks,sa国际传媒� said Angelica Langen, Northern Lights co-founder with husband Peter Langen.
WATCH: Video of 29 black bear orphans eating breakfast at Northern Lights Animal Shelter
The two grizzlies will be released in Bella Coola.
Angelica said 2018 was a fairly typical year.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 becoming standard, between 30 and 40 bears every year, the most we had was almost 50 and we can take over 60, we have room,sa国际传媒� she said.
She explained the June release is based primarily on the natural cycle of cub weaning.
sa国际传媒淭hey always get released at about a year-and-a-half,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淭hatsa国际传媒檚 when the mother kicks them off because shesa国际传媒檚 going to get bred again by a male and the male would be a danger to the cubs.
sa国际传媒淭his is the normal time when theysa国际传媒檙e genetically primed to be on their own. Theysa国际传媒檙e teenagers now, so they cansa国际传媒檛 wait to move out from home.
sa国际传媒淭he other reason we try to do it at this time of year is because the adults are busy with each other; theysa国际传媒檙e less likely to hunt the young ones down so (the cubs) have four or five weeks to kind of get their bearing and get the hell out of the area if theresa国际传媒檚 a big boar around.sa国际传媒�
Finally, she said, the abundance of food at this time of year helps.
sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 lots of food and bears do share, so if theresa国际传媒檚 lots of food around, again, theresa国际传媒檚 less chance of predation.
sa国际传媒淎ll around, itsa国际传媒檚 the best time for them to go out, the berries are coming now and theresa国际传媒檚 lots of greens, so they have a good chance of getting themselves settled and not lose a whole lot of weight.sa国际传媒�
Shelter workers also try to avoid putting the cubs into a tough situation.
sa国际传媒淥bviously when we drive in somewhere we donsa国际传媒檛 know whatsa国际传媒檚 living there, but we look for signs of bear activity and we try to pick areas where we donsa国际传媒檛 see many signs, but [where there is] good food and water.sa国际传媒�
That doesnsa国际传媒檛 mean there isnsa国际传媒檛 sometimes trouble. Angelica said there have been cases when it looks like theysa国际传媒檝e found a safe drop-off spot and the next thing that happens is a big male will show up.
READ MORE: Saving a bear at Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter
sa国际传媒淭heresa国际传媒檚 nothing you can do about that,sa国际传媒� she said. sa国际传媒淎ll the areas are occupied and itsa国际传媒檚 normal for the young ones that they have to move.sa国际传媒�
June is also the busy time of year for rescues. So far in 2019, the shelter has taken in 10 black bear cubs and one deer fawn and Angelica is anticipating many more.
The main cause is traffic, she said.
sa国际传媒淭he primary reason why we get bears is highway or train collisions, I would say thatsa国际传媒檚 about 75 per cent of the cubs we get come from those reasons.sa国际传媒�
The second most common cause is nuisance bears being shot.
sa国际传媒淲hen people leave their attractants out, and they donsa国际传媒檛 clean up their garbage and donsa国际传媒檛 like when the bear comes around and has an easy meal, then, if the calls keep coming in, the conservation officers, by law, have no other choice than taking out those bears and that then creates more orphans,sa国际传媒� she explained.
Consequently, now is also the most expensive time of year for Northern Lights and the push is on to bring in the donations.
sa国际传媒淲esa国际传媒檙e totally funded by the public and by donations so we rely on getting these donations and that dictates how many bears we can take in,sa国际传媒� Angelica said. sa国际传媒淚f we donsa国际传媒檛 get the support, we have to reduce the numbers, because we have to look after them until next year, so I need to know that we can feed them and look after them.
sa国际传媒淚tsa国际传媒檚 always this time of year, fundraising for the kilometres that we have to cover and then also for all these little guys that are coming in now, the milk is very expensive, like a bag of bear milk is about $145 and wesa国际传媒檒l go through a bag in a week-and-a-half.sa国际传媒�
There is also the expense of maintenance on the pens and structures.
sa国际传媒淲hen you have a 150-pound bear in there and you have 30 of them, they do a lot of damage,sa国际传媒� she said.
editor@interior-news.com
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