A week ago, Alice, an orphaned black bear cub from Wyoming, was in a dire situation. However, she has now found refuge and is safe and sound at an Idaho bear rescue center, where she has garnered a dedicated online following.
According to wildlife photographer Anita Wooldridge, Alice has a fighting chance at survival and the opportunity to roam freely once again, all thanks to the proactive measures taken by the Wyoming Game and Fish Department (as cited in Cowboy State Daily).
She was one of the people who had been keeping an eye on the cub, which appeared on its own in the small town of Kelly, located northeast of Jackson.
She exclaimed, “When I discovered that it was headed towards the river, I was filled with worry. I immediately thought, ‘Oh my god, this poor creature won’t survive! It doesn’t have a mother to guide it and it can’t go into hibernation.'”
No Sign Of Mom
According to Mark Gocke, the Jackson area spokesman for Game and Fish, the agency began receiving reports of the cub last week. They have been closely monitoring the cub, hoping that its mother would show up.
According to Cowboy State Daily, the bear expert mentioned that they did not spot an adult bear for a few days. This observation led them to believe that the bear in question had likely been orphaned.
Gocke added that the fate of the cub’s mother is still unknown.
After wildlife agents freed the cub from its initial predicament of being apparently stuck in a fork in the trunk of a cottonwood tree, it quickly fled towards the river.
The cat was later discovered hiding beneath a homeowner’s porch in Kelly.
The decision was made by Game and Fish to trap the cub, according to Gocke. With great care, Large Carnivore Biologist Mike Boyce successfully accomplished this task without causing any harm to the young bear.
The cub of the year (COY) was identified as being born in a winter den, most likely in February. It then emerged alongside its mother in May.
According to Gocke, Boyce described the animal as malnourished and undersized, which was not typical for this time of year. Gocke further explained that the animal had very little chance of surviving the winter due to its poor condition.
We Know Who To Call
According to Gocke, the cub was under the care of Game and Fish, but they were unable to provide long-term care for it. As a result, they reached out to Idaho Black Bear Rehab (IBBR) located in Garden City, Idaho, to ensure the cub’s well-being.
“We decided to give them a call to check if they had space available for this adorable cub, and fortunately, they did,” he mentioned. “We have had the pleasure of working with them in the past.”
According to Amy Kidwell, the founder of IBBR, the cub, who she affectionately named Alice, was in a severely weakened state when she arrived under her care.
According to Kidwell, Alice enthusiastically embraced her meals despite her small size, weighing in at only about 15 pounds.
Kidwell mentioned on Wednesday that he can visually see that she has gained weight, and he attributed it to the fact that he has been feeding her with some delicious, fatty foods.
According to Kidwell, she refrained from re-weighing Alice as she didn’t want to subject the cub to the stress of being tranquilized and examined until it had ample time to acclimate to its new environment.
Back Home This Summer
According to Kidwell, who has extensive experience with cubs of Alice’s age in captivity, she doesn’t anticipate Alice going into a complete hibernation this winter. However, she does expect Alice to significantly slow down during this time.
Alice’s photos have been gaining a lot of attention on social media, and people are eagerly following the cub’s growth.
Kidwell mentioned that she has been allowing Alice to have her own space, ensuring she is well-fed, and monitoring her activities through remote cameras. The main objective of IBBR is to reintroduce orphaned cubs back into their natural habitats.
According to her, the success rate is impressive, particularly when it comes to the bears in Wyoming. She mentioned that Wyoming offers incredible locations for releasing bears back into their natural habitat.
IBBR only deals with black bear cubs, not orphaned grizzlies, according to the spokesperson.
According to Gocke, this approach has proven to be successful in the case of orphaned black bears that were taken in by IBBR and later released in Wyoming.
According to the wildlife manager, once these bears are released back into the wild, there is no further contact with them. The ultimate goal for a wildlife manager is to ensure that the bears can live their lives naturally.
