Tiny Bear Cub Being Cared For at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Center
Janill Gilbert stashed this in Animals
Stashed in: Cute!, Awesome, Bears!, Baby animals!, Bears, Adorbs
This is a great organization in my town that has been rehabilitating animals since 1978, basically in a subdivision home with an extra lot! They are working now towards finding and developing a larger facility, that can better house the animals, as well as have the space for the public to visit and learn about the animals.
I know it will grow up to be ferocious, but right now it is so adorable!
This organization does sound great: http://www.ltwc.org/
Every year they hold an open house, this year August 3rd. It's pretty cool to walk around their backyard, and see how they manage the operation ;)
Can you pet the bears or is that not really a thing?
I'm not sure. I think at some age, they want to minimize human contact, but maybe when they are super young, and need to be bottle fed? Not sure.
This page has some info about how to rehabilitate a bear cub:
Very few bears die of old age. They mostly die due to humans. Sad.
More pictures, and a link to a new article about how she's doing. Video at end, where she sounds like she's purring, and making muffins in the blanket :) Sad she will grow up without her momma :(
Caretakers use a bottle to feed the cub a specially-made formula. But aside from feeding times, the animal has little to no contact with humans in order to keep her from becoming too attached, said LTWC Executive Director Cheryl Millham.
“She’s not like a cat or dog,” Millham said. “You can’t pet her, play with her or sleep next to her, or she’ll (adapt) to the point where she can’t be released.”
The cub is currently being raised indoors, so Millham and her husband can keep a close eye on her. However, the shelter plans to move Tahoe into one of the outdoor dens in a couple weeks.
Ultimately, the goal of the Bear League and LTWC is to release the animal back into the wild when she’s old enough.
I've never wanted anything more than I want to bottle feed this baby bear.
Why do baby bears chortle? Is it like purring?
I totally get that :) I can't find anything on why, everything that comes up in relation to "chortle bear" is generating from this story. Wikipedia does list bears under purring though:
Well got around to digging out and scanning the pics today ;) I actually did get to hold a baby bear (no feeding) when my son and I went on a road trip to Bandon, Oregon on spring break about 15 years ago!
My opinion now, would be to not breed these in captivity, but might be a good place for the one just found, as I don't know how it will learn it's way without a mom teaching it, unless it just all comes naturally?
I don't remember the story of this little guy, if it was bred there, or came to them as an orphan.
Those little bears are adorable!
All the little cubs, bear and human!
UPDATE: She is from Humboldt
"The mystery behind where the tiny bear cub came from seems to be resolved. The Bear League received an anonymous call from a man who claimed responsibility for rescuing the orphaned cub and leaving it in the driveway of the West Shore facility.
The man knew the answer to every question regarding where she was placed, what else was out there, the color of the blanket in the kennel and more. He said he found her crying and hugging her deceased mother near Humboldt Redwoods State Park. He did not know how the mama bear died, saying it was quite a distance from a road.
He said when he notified authorities (but he would not say which agency) he was told to leave it alone. He told the Bear League his conscience would not allow him to walk away and leave her to die.
California Department of Fish and Wildlife will be running DNA from her hair and blood in an attempt to pin down her origins. If it points to that general area, the she will be released there.
In the mean time, Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care is getting her ready to return to the wild."
http://www.laketahoenews.net/2014/04/orphaned-cub-likely-humboldt-area/
More news and another adorable video:
http://blog.sfgate.com/stew/2014/05/02/orpahned-bear-cub-tahoe-recovering-video/
She's still in the adorable stage, though it does look like she's grown. Interesting the stuffed animal feeding apparatus, I remember something like that way back was used for gorilla babies?
Yep, sad test, but I guess better them than us :( Also, it reminds me of "Wilson", our need for interaction with others is so strong, that we will imagine them, if we need to.
People need people, definitely. Interacting gives life something more than just surviving.
Huge news for the Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care!
Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care is moving from the founders’ backyard that is less than 1 acre to 27 acres in South Lake Tahoe.
Tom and Cheryl Millham, who have run the wildlife rehabilitation facility for more than 36 years, were teary-eyed as they made the announcement May 17 at MontBleu casino during a break in the annual volunteer training.
Negotiations to buy the triangular-shaped parcel owned by Marjorie Springmeyer on Al Tahoe Boulevard near Pioneer Trail and the Pioneer Village housing development have been going on since September. This is across from open space called the Springmeyer Land Conservancy.
The lease with an option to buy contract was signed May 15. The price has not been disclosed. Barbara Hartoonian left a substantial sum to LTWC that is allowing for the land acquisition. There is money for the first phase, but extensive fundraising will be required to build the facility the Millhams have been dreaming about for decades.
The money left by Hartoonian will only cover a fraction of the more than $10 million that the new facility plus lease is expected to cost.
Bonnie Springmeyer told Lake Tahoe News one of the driving reasons her mother-in-law decided to part with this parcel was because her friend Hartoonian believed in LTWC.
The elder Springmeyer turns 92 this summer. Her family – the Johnsons and that of her late husband Buzz’s – were pioneers on the South Shore as well in the Carson Valley. They still own a tremendous amount of land in both locations.
It has not been decided what aspect of the facility will be named after Springmeyer, but part of the deal is this will also be part of Marjorie Springmeyer’s legacy.
This property was looked at 12 years ago, but Springmeyer was not ready to sell at that time.
The next step is to secure the necessary permits from the city and Tahoe Regional Planning Agency. A zoning change will also be required.
The goal is to break ground in May 2015. Cages have been designed.
Phase one will be the rehabilitation center, including medical facility for the animals. It will also have caretaker’s quarters. Denise Upton, who has been an instrumental part of LTWC in recent years, will take over for Executive Director Cheryl Millham.
“We will be advisers and counselors to the people running the facility,” Tom Millham told Lake Tahoe News.
The Millhams have wanted to retire for years. But they haven’t been able to because the animals are in their backyard. It was in 2001 that El Dorado County told them they had to find another place for the center. It has taken this long to find a suitable location.
The second phase will include an education center that will have a conference center and gift shop.
Fencing will allow for animals that cannot return to the wild to live on site and give a different kind of educational experience for people.
“It will be great economic development for the community. It will give people another reason to stay and play,” South Lake Tahoe City Manager Nancy Kerry told Lake Tahoe News. “It will help diversify the economy.”
She added, “It’s great recognition for one of the founding families of Lake Tahoe.”
Through the years, LTWC has taken in more than 24,000 animals, returned 15,000-plus to the wild, and has trained more than 2,000 people to help care for these animals. LTWC is California’s only rehab facility for bear cubs.
That is excellent, Janill!
This Sunday is the 1 day every year, when the public can visit the Wildlife Care Center.
Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care’s open house is Aug. 3 from 10am-4pm.
This is the one time of the year the public is permitted on the grounds where the wild birds and animals are rehabilitated before being released back to the wild.
Nine bear cubs and oodles of other animals are being cared for. Volunteers will be on hand to guide people through the grounds and describe the reasons the various wildlife are at LTWC, and the prognosis for their eventual release back to the wild.
LTWC is at 1485 Cherry Hills Circle, off Elks Club Drive in Meyers.
For more information, call 530.577.2273.
Sweet! Thank you for sharing, Janill.
10:01 AM Apr 17 2014