A bear orphanage in Smithers is in desperate need of donations as it’s dealing with a record number of cubs arriving this spring.
The Northern Lights Wildlife Society is currently caring for 16 bear cubs, up from the usual one or two cubs they see at this time of year.
The three latest cubs arrived on Wednesday.
Shelter manager Angelika Langen got the call from a Conservation Officer in Smithers a few days ago that up to three cubs had been spotted near Chapman Lake. They had been wandering for several days, with no mother in sight.
Langen and her husband, Peter, drove out and found two cubs on the first try. Langen says they set out a trap and the cubs got into it within hours, which, Langen says, shows their level of hunger. The third cub was located next morning.
“We’ve never, ever had so many bears at such a young age,” says Langen.
All 16 cubs in their care are about the same age and were probably born at the end of January.
READ MORE: Northern Lights Wildlife Society dealing with record number of orphaned bear cubs
Now the shelter is struggling to get enough donations to pay for the bear milk formula that the young cubs need to grow. The shelter has only budgeted to care for a maximum of four bear cubs.
“None of us ever envisioned caring for 16,” says Langen.
Bear cubs are usually sent to wildlife shelters after Conservation Officers determine they meet rehabilitation criteria.
“It is a mixed blessing,” says Langen. “We are really happy that the bears fit the criteria and get sent to our rehab. But now we have to adjust our donation levels and budgets to take care of them properly.”
Each cub in their care currently guzzles more than $50 a week in bear milk formula, and that number will only rise as the cubs grow.
At least $6,400 is needed until the cubs can be weaned off the formula in August.
The cubs are released when they are 16-months-old, which is when they would naturally leave their mothers, to provide best survival conditions.
For more information on how to donate, go here.
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