In April 2015, the Wildlife Center began admitting this year’s bear cubs from locations throughout Virginia. These bears were likely born in early January to mid-February of 2015. The cubs were suspected separated from their mothers, or possibly orphaned. In most cases, the cub was left alone for a period of time to allow the sow to come back and reunite with it.
When introduced to other bears, each cub has a temporary colored ear tag placed in its left ear. These tags will be removed prior to release and will be replaced with more permanent green or black ear tags from the Virginia Department of Inland Fisheries. The temporary colored tags allow the Center staff to monitor and identify the cubs via Critter Cam.
During bottle- and bowl-feeding, when the cubs require a special bear formula, they are housed in the Center’s Bear Pens. Once the bear cubs are weaned from formula, they will be moved to the Center’s Black Bear Complex, which will likely be early June. In the Bear Complex, the bears will have plenty of room to continue growing, away from humans.
The 2015 bear cubs include:
Cub #15-0224, male, no tags
Cub #15-0292, male, red tag
Cub #15-0354, male, yellow tag
Cub #15-0458, male, orange tag
Cub #15-0503, male, white tag
Cub #15-0504, male, pink tag
Cub #15-1651, female, green tag
Watch the cubs on Critter Cam!
Read our 2015 Frequently Asked Questions about Black Bear cubs
Bears in the news:
Caring for Bears, WVIR-TV
Bear cubs feeding time, The News Leader
Wildlife Center Treating Three Black Bears, WSHV-TV
Why are there so many orphaned baby bears?, WTKR-TV