A dramatic rescue unfolded in the middle of Okanagan Lake when a family boating near Vernon came across a young bear struggling to stay afloat.
Christina Zamniuk and her family jumped into action after spotting the cub in the water on Saturday, Sept. 12.
“He was struggling to stay above the water,” Zamniuk said. “His little nose was going under, he was blowing bubbles, his back legs were not moving anymore.”
The family managed to get the bear onto their boat and safely out of the water.
They affectionately named the cub Boo Boo.
But what happened after the rescue has raised concerns for Zamniuk.
She says the family was surprised when conservation officers did not attend in person. Instead, they were advised over the phone to push the bear off the boat once they reached shore.
“They told us just to shove him off the boat. We didn’t want to do it,” Zamniuk said. “The fact that the conservation officers were just like, well, you know, we have to trap him, and we don’t know if we can do anything, and just let him go. He’ll be fine.”
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Reluctantly, the family followed the advice and released Boo Boo near the shoreline.
The cub was seen heading into the woods.
However, at an estimated 30 pounds, wildlife experts say the young bear faces significant challenges heading into winter with the odds of survival not in its favour.
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“Very slim,” said Angelika Langen of the Northern Lights Wildlife Society.
“There’s still some time for it to gain weight for the winter, but normally we say they should have at least 50 pounds. If it’s a small cub, 50 pounds can sustain them through hibernation. Thirty pounds will not be able to do that.”
The Northern Lights Wildlife Society has sent a team to the area where the cub was released near the Chief Saddlemen Road in the Parker Cove area off of Westside Road near Vernon.
They are hoping to capture it and bring it into shelter for the winter before releasing it.
When asked why conservation officers did not pick up the cub after it was rescued from the water, the ministry responsible said it wasn’t a public safety issue.
However, Zamniuk says she feels conflicted about pushing the bear cub off the boat and hoping he makes it on his own.
“I don’t know if that doesn’t sit that well with me,” she said.
“And I can’t stop thinking about him.”
Typical civil service indifference.
Typical civil service cynicism.
The bear probably was trying to escape the murderous, trigger happy mamabear killer conservation officer. Conservation. Right.
Conservation officers are supposed to conserve. Another institutional takeover.
Conservation officers are just too lazy to deal with it. Unacceptable.
I’m a Bear.I live in the wild,it’s my natural habitat. Glad to be back there rather than stuck in a cage at some human animal prison being fed out of a bottle like a baby.
Thanks for the help,now get lost !!!
I don’t understand how or why people get into these occupations and don’t give any Fucks. Go stock shelves at Walmart if you lack the morals and compassion in a job you are paid for to have dedication in conservation and wildlife. Someone would love to have a carrer in that. Morons.
Honestly, why didn’t the Conservation Service recommend that the rescuers contact a wildlife rescue organization in the first place? It’s like they really don’t care about wildlife at all. They would rather just shoot it or let nature take it’s course.
That surprises me that those conservation officers didn’t take the bear cub to a wildlife shelter to make sure he makes it through the winter…seems lazy and heartless to me…
also wondering why you didn’t wrap him in a blanket or towel, or maybe you did, cub looked helpful for the rescue, shame on the ministry for not showing up in person because it wasn’t a public safety issue, I’m sure that lake was pretty chilly. Glad you were able to do your part Christina.
先只就欧盟部分主要科学基金长期以来拖欠本首席的小单元多模块科学学术研究花费经费的行为就早已表明其背后隐藏的邪恶味以上的阴谋诡计就多到啦数不胜数等，或许是本首席的小单元多模块学术研究的沧海一粟所救的群体、企事业甚至小地区早已经太多的缘故等等吧？！……
Surely the ministry could have come and taken the bear cub to a rescue society or at least contacted the society to come and get the cub. Just like other government agencies they are just lazy. I guess animal conservation is just a job title with no concern about the animals.
The bear hopefully will survive. It probably has better odds than humanity.
Cos now are dumb as anything. Not like the old days when they knew a lot about wildlife and the areas they worked.
Hopefully it lives a long and full life far away from humans
Maybe they should have catured him and fattened him up