A new home for three tiny black bears dumped and locked inside a washroom near Banff almost two weeks ago may be finalized by the end of the week.
Three abandoned female cubs were discovered just before midnight on April 1 when a passing motorist went to use a washroom at a viewpoint overlooking Vermilion Lakes just west of Banff.
There was no sign of the mother bear at the time they were found and, despite an extensive three-day search and checking of wildlife cameras, wildlife staff could not find the mother.
Sheila Luey, acting superintendent of Banff National Park, said the wildlife team has been working relentlessly to find an appropriate facility, with the intention of rehabilitating the bear cubs and releasing them back into Banff National Park.
“We have not landed a place for the bears, but our goal would be to try and settle this this week,” she said, noting wildlife staff have been in discussions with “many organizations across the country”.
“We’re still taking care of them, thanks to dedicated staff and people who are really throwing their heart and soul into doing the best for these bears.”
The cubs, which were still nursing when found, appear healthy. They’re about three months old and are in the four- to six-pound range in weight.
Black bear offspring typically remain with their mothers for a year or longer, depending on the tolerance level of the mother.
One of the cubs has already been weaned from the bottle. She’s now eating soft mushy food prepared by Parks Canada’s veterinarian. The other two are being bottle fed with a special mix, also prepared by the vet.
“That’s good news because once they’re weaned, we don’t have to handle them to feed them,” said Luey.
“If we get the other two to wean, that will be better news while we continue to sort this out.”
Parks Canada hasn’t named the facilities it’s been in discussions with.
Many facilities have expressed interest, such as Northern Lights Wildlife Society in B.C. and Aspen Valley Sanctuary in Ontario, but they got caught up in bureaucratic red tape with their respective provincial governments.
The facility must be licensed to receive bears from out of province, if necessary. Because Parks is a federal agency, they also need to obtain necessary provincial permissions to move the animals across provincial boundaries.
Luey said the ideal outcome is to see the young cubs rehabilitated and live a natural bear life in their natural habitat.
“We’re looking for a reputable facility that has sufficient space for three bears, that has expertise and some track record of success on rehabilitating,” she said.
Angelika Langen, co-founder and manager of North Lights Wildlife Society in B.C. said she was contacted by Parks Canada soon after the bears were discovered inside the washroom, and agreed they would love to take the bears.
“We had it all set and then it got stopped by the B.C. government. I was not allowed to bring bears into B.C. from another province,” she said.
“I would love to get a chance to rehab them, but without permission from the B.C. government, we can’t do it.”
Wardens continue to investigate, but the trail gets colder as more time passes.
Parks isn’t speculating on where the bears came from, whether from around here or from B.C. where it’s spring bear hunting season.
“We can’t begin to guess where they came from, whether they’re bears from the national park or brought in from outside the park,” said Luey.
“We got a lot of calls from the public about bears, but there was no new substantive information in terms of how they came here. We don’t know and we may never know.”
Anyone with information to help wardens with their investigation is asked to call Banff dispatch at 403-762-1470.
