Record number of rehabilitated black bear cubs set to be released into Manitoba wild

It's been a busy year at Black Bear Rescue Manitoba, an organization that says it will have released 30 orphan bear cubs from its care into the wild by the end of this season.

That's by far a record, says one of the people who helps run the bear rescue near Stonewall, Man. The previous year, they released just 19 cubs.

It's bittersweet to say goodbye,Judy Stearns said in an interview with CBC Manitoba's Information Radio on Tuesday.

"Obviously, they can't stay here. We don't want them to stay in captivity, but when you care for an animal for months like that ... they're in the back of your mind, that they're fed and safe, and then you have to let them go," she said.

"I worry about them after they're gone. It'sa dangerous world out there for bears."

Many of the bears that came in as weak, unhealthy orphans will now headback into the wild as robust animals.

One such bear was named Vinny, and he left a mark on Stearns.

"He was our first cub who came in [this season]. He came in at the end of April and he weighed five pounds. He was found by himself, and he went out at 145 pounds," she said.

Releasing cubs requires a lot of work.

First of all, the animals have to be healthy enough. That means they need to weigh at least 80 pounds, so they have enough fat stored to make it through the winter without a mother's help, Stearns said.

Cubs aresedated so they can be collared and have ear tags put on, and are thenreleased in the groups they're housed with.

"It involves quite a team of people. We've got provincial biologists here, we've got our veterinarians here, we've got volunteers so we've got it down to quite a science. It's like an assembly line," Stearns said.

"You do one cub and then the next cub, and we just move them through the whole process, and they end up being placed into their transport boxes and then away we go."

Stearns says cubs are released with bears they've bonded with so they have safety in numbers, but the bears also know exactly what to do once they're in the wild.

That's apparent even on the property of the rescue, she said.

"When we let them run inan enclosure we have here in June that has berry bushes, and berries are growing, they instantly walk over, stand on their hind legs, pull a branch down and start plucking berries off and eating them."

So far, four cubs have been released this year, and 26 more are scheduled to return to the wild. Stearns is ready for the season to be over.

"I haven't had a day off since the end of April, since so many came in, so I'mkind of looking forward to just putting my feet up and unwinding."