Bear bed shortage: Metro Vancouver cub rehab centre at capacity

METRO VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Orphaned bear cubs in the Lower Mainland may be at risk of being euthanized as Metro Vancouver’s only rehabilitation centre reaches capacity at a record rate.

Critter Care Wildlife Society has taken in 18 black bear cubs, many of whom are orphaned because their mothers were put down for becoming too habituated to human food and civilization. This is the earliest the society has reached capacity and there’s still several months left in bear season.

“Finding it very sad as I am sure a lot of you are to see what is going on out there with our black bears,” organization founder Gail Martin wrote on the society’s Facebook page. “People, please keep your garbage contained so that these animals are not having to be killed.”

Because of local diseases and pests, bear cubs cannot be transferred between the three rehabilitation centres across the province. Northern Lights Wildlife Society founder Angelika Langen says new orphaned baby black bears may have no place to go, which could lead to more of the young animals being put down before the summer’s end.

“If they don’t have the adequate weight then they will either die or the conservation officers will put them down so that they’re not suffering,” she said, adding every orphan is evaluated on a case by case basis. “The later in the year it is, the more chances there are that these cubs will be okay on their own… Right now they would be too young. They won’t survive.”

However, she says the older a bear is, the longer it has had time to learn bad habits, like eating garbage, from its mother.

RELATED: Conservation officers urge ‘common sense’ after black bear put down in Port Moody

Conservation Officers have destroyed 18 grizzlies and 249 black bears so far this year, both up from this time last year. At least two mothers and their cubs in Coquitlam and Squamish have already been put down in recent weeks for getting too close to humans.

Those caught attracting bears should be the ones paying for the rehab, according to Langen.

“They caused the problems. They should be fined for it,” Langen said. “Critter Care said they need over $12,000 for the cubs. If you go to some of these business or personal people there that leave their garbage out and collect $12,000, how do you think they feel about that?”

At least two mothers and their cubs in Coquitlam and Squamish have already been put down in recent weeks for getting too close to humans.

“It’s just unacceptable that as humans we are causing these bears to be orphaned because we’re too lazy to manage attractants,” Lagen said, adding it is unfortunate it takes cubs dying for people to care about the number of bears being put down because they became too cozy with humans.