A recent family boating trip on Okanagan Lake turned into a wildlife water rescue mission.
Christina Zamniuk told Global News that they were boating between their Vernon lakehouse and Adventure Bay last weekend when a baby bear was spotted swimming in the middle of the lake.
She said it was clear that the cub was exhausted and struggling to keep its head above water.
The family called the B.C. Conservation Service for guidance as they were unsure what to do.
In the meantime, they were able to get a rope around the bear and brought the cub, which they named Boo Boo, onto the boat to warm up.
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“His little nose was going under,” Zamniuk said.
“He was blowing bubbles. His little back legs were not moving anymore. He was just paddling with his front and he was just exhausted. So we got him in there… We got him on the boat. He was shivering, shaking, he was absolutely terrified.”
Zamniuk said they kept the bear on the boat to warm up for about an hour.
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On the advice of the B.C. Conservation Service, they were told to take Boo Boo close to shore and with a loving shove, he was able to make it onto land and went on his way.
Typos to my post. Cub this young dies in 3-5 days without mama!!!
BCCOs failed that cub. Its way too young to be on its own. I am a wildlife rescuer and that cub will be dead in 3-5 years. Stop reporting like this os a hero story. Teh heroes are the people that saved cub from drowning. The decision to not pick that cub up from COs is a death sentence. So not only does that terrified cub survive a ling time in the water now it has to be hunted and harmed by predators amd also starve to death! Sad but BCCOs are determines to wipe out the entire bear population in BC!! No lie. Look this up!
This near cub is way too young to be left alone on its own!!! I am a wildlife rescuer and BCCOs should have picked this cub amd sent to rehab. Another VERY poor decision on their part. And to state they are monitoring cub for human comflicts means they WILL kill shot that poor cub. Lonely. Lost. No mama is an absolute DEATH sentence. No chance for survival that young and alone This is not a hero story this is a death story by COs. People who had heart to save have NO idea that cub will be dead without mama in 3-5 days and a torturous suffering deat to boot
Why no transfer him the the wildlife hospital in Northern BC where they have been taking care of orphaned bear cubs for years. There’s no doubt this young cub will more than likely die as he’s too young to fend and feed himself. BC wildlife should be ashamed of themselves and do their job.
@best, look up word village idiot in dictionary, his picture is there
@ best, poor guy, his mother used to tell everybody she wished she had gave a BJ that night, poor poor unwanted guy, kinda feel sorry
Heartbreaking, the bear cub was rescued from drowning then left being way too little to fend for themselves. I have read other stories here in BC how orphaned baby animals are not being saved but left to die compared to before. Rescue places are here to help then release! So sad!
Is there not a bear rescue organization in B.C that will take in an orphaned cub? This bear is too small to survive on its own! That’s heartbreaking BC conservation told them to dump it on shore :( grateful ON has amazing MNR staff and a few wildlife rescues that have rehabilitate and successfully released bear cubs into the wild when they are yearnings. See ” Bear with us ” rescue and educational org in Sprucedale ON. Do better BC conservation authority.
Except now the bear is without its mama and will probably get into garbage or die of starvation. Why not recommend a rescue org?
Anonymous the village idiot…are your postings a pathetic scream for help?
Anonymous the village idiot…no article to big or too small to comment on you lonely pathetic Numpty
I’m genuinely surprised the BC conservation society did not tell the family to leave the bear alone and just let it die, as that’s usually their policy in similar situations. Perhaps they’ve started to use common sense when it comes to their “zero interference with nature” policy.
@anonymous. Those are some WILD assumptions. You have exactly zero knowledge of the situation, just like rest of us. Stop making up stories in your head and pretending it’s reality. Be happy the bear was saved and move on. It’s a feel good story, no other pretend context needed.
Why was the bear swimming in the middle of the lake? The circumstances appear to be caused human interference. A baby bear or an adult or any bear regardless of age would never venture into depths beyond their ability. It’s wonderful that the family called it in however someone was boating in the area and would have pushed the baby bear in the water. Monitoring boating activity in the area should be a priority given the circumstances. An investigation as to who regularly boats in the area should be initiated to avoid people brazenly abusing wildlife. A message should go out to notify people that those actions will not be tolerated. If people notice any suspicious activity to call in immediately and follow up investigation is in the works.