Three bear cubs, orphaned last fall, released in California wild. Watch the adorable video
Three bear cubs found orphaned in Mariposa County in September were released back into the wild this month after a six-month stay at a San Diego wildlife center.
The bears, triplet sisters, were found inside a residential garage a few miles southwest of the Mariposa Fairgrounds on Sept. 22. A female bear believed to be their mother was found killed nearby, according to the San Diego Humane Society, which cared for the cubs at the Ramona Wildlife Center.
Mark Abraham, a California Department of Fish and Wildlife biologist, said he and a warden used catch poles to get the cubs, which were about seven months old and 25-35 pounds at the time. He said the garage door had been open for several hours and the cubs refused to come out.
“While they were close to weaning age, they would have remained with their mother for up to two years learning to hunt and survive,” according to a press release from the Humane Society.
During their stay at the wildlife center, a care team prepared the bears for a successful return to the wild by minimizing human interaction and moving them to outdoor enclosures as soon as they were ready.
The Humane Society said the bears had plenty of opportunity to acclimate to the weather, run, climb, play, forage for their food and roughhouse with one another to build muscle.
The bears each ate about 10 pounds of food every day, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, honey and assorted proteins.
The Mariposa bears were joined at the center by a bear from Plumas County, also about 7 months old when he suffered burned paws in the Dixie fire in August.
All the bears were released April 14 near the locations they were found.
When the trailer door opened following the long drive from Southern California, the Mariposa bears jumped out and ran up nearby trees, before wandering off into their new habitat.
Abraham said the bears were fitted with GPS collars so their movement can be tracked.
He said the bears are reaching an age at which they would normally start to go off on their own. He will be tracking their travel and is interested to see if they might stay together longer given their six months at the wildlife center. The collars will also show if they are staying out of trouble or if they end up in someone’s garage again.
“Any time you rehabilitate something, you are always wondering what becomes of it out in the wild,” Abraham said. “With the collars, hopefully we can answer some of those questions.”
This story was originally published April 25, 2022 at 9:29 AM with the headline "Three bear cubs, orphaned last fall, released in California wild. Watch the adorable video."
