WESTLOCK — The first day of summer welcomed a new season, but this year, it also gave a black bear cub found wandering the streets of Westlock last October, a second lease on life.
The bear cub, who had been rehabilitating at the Alberta Institute for Wildlife Conservation (AIWC), north of Calgary, since he was captured Halloween night, was handed over to Alberta Fish and Wildlife officers for his release back into the wild on June 20.
“The release went very well. The bear left (AIWC) on June 19 and (spent) overnight near Edmonton and was released north of Fort Assiniboine on the morning of June 20,” said AIWC’s acting executive director, Katrina Terrill. “Fish and Wildlife will continue to monitor him over the next year to see where he goes, and will let us know when he dens down for the winter.”
The emaciated male bear cub arrived at the AIWC last fall and weighed just 28 pounds. Over the course of several months, he was rehabilitated and his health improved. A pre-release health exam conducted at the end of May reported the bear’s weight at more than 132 pounds and a couple of weeks later, he was tranquillized for a second exam, closer to his release date, where blood samples, fur samples, and paw prints were taken, and he was fitted with an ear tag and a GPS collar. He was awoken and transported to his new home in northern Alberta.
“We weren’t sure exactly where his native range was, but north of Fort Assiniboine is a great green space, there’s lots of wildlands up there so he should be in a good position over there,” said Terrill, noting the release happened “very smoothly and quickly.”
“Once the trap lid has been lifted, they are usually very eager to just get out of there,” she added. “They look behind to make sure we’re not following them and then they’re off.”
Terrill noted the AIWC considers it a success when they can ensure the bear cub “gets back to the wild” and ideally goes into hibernation that first year. The radio (GPS) collar will fall off shortly after he wakes up from hibernation next spring.
“We are thrilled with how everything turned out. He certainly had a hard start, but thanks to the support of the team here and the wonderful community at large, his story has ended happily,” said Terrill.
