An orphaned Wyoming black bear cub seemed almost certain to starve to death last winter, but after several months at an Idaho bear rescue facility, she’s almost ready to come home to the Cowboy State.
The cub, named Alice, was down to a mere 15 pounds when she arrived at the Idaho Black Bear Rehab (IBBR) last December.
Since then, Alice has bounced back remarkably, Amy Kidwell, who runs IBBR, told Cowboy State Daily on Tuesday.
The plan has been to return Alice to the wild in Wyoming, so Kidwell has taken a mostly hands-off approach and hasn’t weighed the cub in a while.
But Kidwell guesses she’s “in the 60- to 70-pound range,” a perfectly healthy weight for a roughly 15-month-old female black bear.
Little Bear In Big Trouble
Alice’s recovery has been remarkable and inspiring to watch, Kidwell said. But the cub’s journey began under dire circumstances.
In December, the tiny cub was initially discovered stuck in the fork of a cottonwood tree in the small community of Kelly, northeast of Jackson.
Wyoming Game and Fish Department agents freed the cub from that predicament, and it fled toward a nearby river. Game and Fish kept an eye on the cub, waiting to see if its mother would show up.
The cub later hid under a homeowner’s porch in Kelly. And when its mother still didn’t show up, wildlife agents decided it must be orphaned and decided to trap it.
They called IBBR, which has rescued numerous Wyoming black bears over the years. The facility agreed to take in the cub, by then named Alice, and give her a chance at recovery.
Headed Back To The Wild
The goal of IBBR is to return rescued bears back to the wild whenever possible, and Alice is a prime candidate for that, Kidwell said.
Late June is the target date to return her to natural surroundings, and Alice will be released in the general vicinity of where she was found.
“We always release bears back to the state that we got them from, that’s part of the agreement (with wildlife agencies),” Kidwell said. “We like to return them to their home areas so they’re familiar with the area and the natural food sources.”
IBBR has provided Alice with plenty of nutrient-rich food; she’s especially fond of steak.
“She’s really funny. She doesn’t love fish,” Kidwell said. “I mean, she’ll eat it, but she’s more of a steak girl. I tell people, that’s because she’s from Wyoming.”
That raises the question of whether a bear that’s had food provided to it will be able to fend for itself in the wild.
Kidwell said that hasn’t been a problem with past rescued bear cubs, and she’s confident that Alice will do just fine on her own.
“Bears are instinctual, and if there is natural food available, they’ll find it,” she said.
Not Wild About People
IBBR staff has minimal direct contact with bears to help keep them wild. And Alice has been no trouble in that regard, Kidwell said.
“She has quite a fan club” among people who follow IBBR on social media.
But Alice doesn’t seem to have a mutual admiration for people, and that’s a good thing, Kidwell said.
“She has no interest in me at all. Sometimes we get bears that are curious and want to check me out, we don’t have that problem with her,” Kidwell said. “She’s very unique as far as the bears we have. I’ll watch her on the remote camera, but if I go out there (to Alice’s pen) she’ll hide before I even get there.”
So, it’s likely that when Alice goes back to the wild, she’ll steer clear of humans and stay out of trouble, Kidwell said.
Energetic And Curious
Over the winter during bears’ usual hibernation period, Alice stuck to the normal bear routine. She hunkered down in her den, appearing only sporadically for brief periods, Kidwell said.
With the arrival of somewhat warmer weather, Alice has been more active and is loads of fun to watch on camera.
“She looks like she has a great imagination. For those couple of hours she’s up, she’s a spaz. She likes to run around and play and investigate everything,” Kidwell said.
That bodes well for her chances at survival once she returns to Wyoming.
It’s going to be tough saying goodbye to Alice, but it’s nearly time, and the right thing to do, Kidwell said.
“She’s right about at the age where mother black bears kick their cubs on their own in the wild anyway,” she said.
Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.
