Rehabilitation and Release
Occasionally, orphaned grizzly bear and, especially, black bear cubs are rescued from the wild and placed in wildlife rehabilitation facilities. Originally established as an alternative to euthanizing orphaned cubs or to maintaining them in captivity for the remainder of their natural lives, a laudable goal in itself, rehabilitation and release programs also offer significant conservation benefits.
Of the eight recognized species of bears in the world, seven are thought to be in decline in all or parts of their historical range as a result of human activities. Only the American black bear appears to be stable, though many people do not want to see orphaned cubs die of starvation or live in captivity under inhumane conditions no matter the conservation status of the species.
The successful release of orphaned black bears (and, to some degree, grizzlies) back into the wild also has generated interest in starting rehabilitation programs in many countries for rare species of bears. Rehabilitation programs, therefore, provide bear managers with an opportunity to use information obtained from the release of orphaned black bears to evaluate long-term strategies for managing small bear populations, with no risk to those threatened or endangered bear populations. Rehabilitation programs also provide positive educational and public relations value to governmental entities charged with managing wild bear populations.
However, release programs are not without some controversy even within the conservation community. The significance of the controversy ranges from disagreements about what to call attempts to release bears to more important issues regarding the survival probabilities of released animals, the risk of spreading disease and parasites, competition with resident animals, and the potential for hybridization within the recipient population.
Many human activities result in the orphaning of bear cubs. Some of the more common reasons include commercial land-use activities, regulated and non-regulated hunting, weather events, vehicle and train accidents, abandonment as a result of food shortages, and conflict situations.
Regardless of the reason cubs are orphaned, wildlife officials face difficult decisions in attempting to balance the public's concern for the welfare of these cubs and their obligation as wildlife stewards to protect the well being of native bear populations.
The four options wildlife officials most frequently consider are to:
- leave the cubs in the wild to fend for themselves;
- capture them and place them permanently in a zoo or research facility;
- capture them and place them temporarily in a rehabilitation facility;
- or, euthanize them.
Rehabilitation facilities offer a viable option for wildlife managers where they are available. These facilities, when operated by experienced persons, have demonstrated that bear cubs can be excellent candidates for release back to the wild. Survival rates for orphaned cubs do not differ substantially from those of wild cubs, and few animals (less than 2 per cent) become involved in conflict situations within one year of their release.
Studies show that released American black bears have the ability to function behaviourally as wild bears (when good rehabilitation techniques are used to raise the cubs), which is evidenced by the fact that they become reproducing members of the population.
An obvious advantage of placing an orphaned cub in a rehabilitation facility is that the wildlife manager retains the option of releasing the animal back into the bear population if it is deemed a suitable candidate. Opportunities for raising and releasing common bear species (i.e. American black bear) also allow rehabilitators and wildlife authorities to develop methodologies that may prove useful in the future, if intensive management of threatened or endangered bear populations becomes necessary.
A number of disadvantages are associated with placing cubs in a rehabilitation facility, however. In many cases, the cost of raising and releasing orphaned cubs is substantial, although frequently it is borne by the rehabilitator using funding from private welfare organizations, personal funds and grants. A significant risk to wild bear populations exists if care is not taken to ensure that all bears released are free from disease and parasites. Two important factors should be considered before releasing cubs: the status (age structure) of the wild bear population in the release area, and assurance that the area does not contain bears of a different, distinct genotype.
Download a list of bear rehab facilities.
For more detailed information on bear rehab, see Orphan Bear Cubs: Rehabilitation and Release Guidelines by Dr. John Beecham (December 2006).
