# Orphaned Bear Cubs Released



## Kevin D (Sep 15, 2007)

Here is a feel good story about releasing orphaned bear cubs back into the wild:

https://www.ksl.com/?sid=46210233&n...ay-back-into-the-mountains-with-a-little-help

While everybody is still feeling all warm and fuzzy, the reality is, at least from my understanding, is that these cubs have very little chance of survival.

A mother bear plays a critical role in the survival of their offspring. They show their cubs what to eat, where to find it, and when to find it. Without that nurturing, cubs are forced to discover food sources on their own that will likely leave them desperate and hungry.

Another key role of mother bears is identifying dangers and how to avoid them. There's lots of predators out there that will kill a bear cub, particularly other bears. A mother bear will run interference when a predator is encountered generally allowing her offspring to escape. Without that protection the outcome looks a lot more grim for the cub.

I don't know the actual statistics of the survival rate among orphaned cubs released back into the wild, but there's a steep learning curve associated with living in the wild. My guess is that few will still be around for next year's denning. Mother nature can be a real b**ch.


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## Bucksnort (Nov 15, 2007)

Kevin D said:


> Here is a feel good story about releasing orphaned bear cubs back into the wild:
> 
> https://www.ksl.com/?sid=46210233&n...ay-back-into-the-mountains-with-a-little-help
> 
> ...


Usually translocated animals do much more poorly than animals that stay in their home range. The translocated doe advocated by the mule deer foundation, SFW, and the DWR don't do very well.

The bear project released 4 bear cubs in 2015 and all four are still alive and thriving. Perhaps being a smart carnivore has helped them survive vs being a dumb deer.

Sent from my Pixel XL using Tapatalk


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## longbow (Mar 31, 2009)

Kevin D, the local bear biologist and I have talked about that very thing. He said far more bears are killed by other bears than by hunters. Older boars kill cubs within the first and second year after they are kicked off by the sow. Some are killed while still with the sow so she will go into heat quicker. I think those cubs have a slim chance of making it. Sad.


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## Kevin D (Sep 15, 2007)

Bucksnort said:


> The bear project released 4 bear cubs in 2015 and all four are still alive and thriving. Perhaps being a smart carnivore has helped them survive vs being a dumb deer.


I'm not sure if we're talking about the same bear cubs, but during that time period I know the DWR released 2 cubs rehabbed in Idaho (there wasn't a rehab facility in Utah certified for releasing bear cubs into the wild until this year) up Spanish Fork Canyon in 2 separate prepared dens. A late winter check up revealed one already dead and the other one missing.

One of the problems with releasing rehabbed bear cubs into the wild is that the DWR has no way of tracking their movement with tracking collars. Because of bear cub's rapid growth rate, if you put the collar on loose they'll slip it, and if you put it on tight enough they can't slip it you'll strangle them as they grow. Recapturing cubs to loosen a collar isn't practical either because of the cost and effort involved, and because of the possibility of a collar malfunction. Thus, all they can do is give them an ear tag and see if they turn up in either a harvest survey, a later bait barrel trap, or they find it dead from some other cause.

Just because an orphaned bear cub's ear tag number hasn't crossed a biologist's desk however, doesn't mean it's still alive and thriving.


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