BUDDY BEAR - September 18, 2003
By Audrey Tournay

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We first heard of Buddy Bear a week ago tomorrow. Donna DeBreuil, from Ottawa, phoned to ask if we had heard about the bear cub that had been so brutalized by a man up on the Gatineau River. We had not heard. She wanted to know if, since the word was that the little bear had been taken north and released – with food – would it be likely to survive? The answer is, of course – no. Cubs, born while the mother is hibernating in January, stay with her for eighteen months. This cub would likely still be nursing. The chances of survival were very slim.

Saturday morning we had a phone call from the Quebec equivalent of our Ministry of Natural Resources – would we have room for three orphaned bear cubs? Yes. We had to make the provision that the cubs, when release time came, would be returned to Quebec. Though good release areas exist in remote parts of Ontario, and we have done considerable research to know that the released cubs have an excellent chance of survival, the law does state that cubs must be returned to the province from which they came – so the Quebec bears will always be Quebec bears.

Tony Grant (manager) and Janet (employee) and I waited for the arrival of the cubs – able to sit down for a moment after a long day of caring for all the other native animals presently in our care – wolves, bears, coyotes, raccoons, foxes, beavers – also waiting for the time when they could be released. Finally, around six o’clock, we saw the truck come over the hill and down around the bend . . . Buddy Bear and friends had arrived!

Buddy is now living in an enclosure with another cub Nimkii. Nimkii (Ojibway for Little Thunder) is about the same size. He had been orphaned a long while – his mother had likely been poached. (We do not have a spring bear hunt in Ontario). Since Buddy had had a sibling, he would be comfortable with companionship. The enclosure is only about fifteen-foot square, but it is temporary. The cubs will be there only until we are sure that their health problems are under control – we have to be able to watch them. However, the enclosure is filled with warm straw, a kennel to hide in, lots of evergreen branches to climb on and play amongst.

At first Buddy was obviously traumatized . . . he hid in the kennel, watched from the darkness, and quite ignored Nimkii. But he ate. He was a very thin cub and very, very hungry – his coat somewhat dull. But he kept on eating . . . pabulum, kibble and apples. Especially apples – when he began to steal apples from Nimkii we began to feel he was doing very well.

The cubs will soon be moved to a large, isolated enclosure for the winter. There, we hope, they will have put on enough weight to hibernate. Once there, they will have little contact with humans – Tony will take food back to them, but no visitors will see them. They must never grow up with the impression that humans are safe.

In partnership with Cambrian College of Sudbury, and with the support of the Ontario Trillium Foundation, we are currently doing research on the survival of rehabilitated black bear cubs after their release. Now into its second year, we feel this study is providing valuable insight into the behaviour and movements of these animals. Most important to their survival is the location of the release: remote from humans and good bear habitat, with lots of food available. It would be wonderful if we could guarantee they would not be hunted. But humans are much more dangerous than bears.

The Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary is a registered charity. We are not unwritten by government of any Foundation but depend entirely on the contributions of individual people – on you! We have been caring for and rehabilitating native wild animals for over thirty years. Each cub costs approximately $1000 to raise and release. We presently have 13 cubs.

Audrey Tournay, Director
Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary
Rosseau, ON P0C 1J0
 

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