Bear Rehabilitation Information

Mike McIntosh is authorized to chemically immobilize wildlife. Mike has had a great deal of experience working with bears. The animal's welfare is the priority.
The bears weight is estimated and then the drug is administered in the most painless method practical depending on the situation. Mike prefers a blow pipe injecting the drug through a needle. This works well with rehabilitated bears in a captive situation

     Bear cubs are released usually at the age of 16 to 18 months. This is close to the age the female bear encourages the cubs to leave her as she is ready to mate again.
     The bears are sedated, an identification tag is installed in the right ear, weighed and treated for parasites.
     The bears are carefully cared for during the sedated state. The drugs reduce their ability to control body temperature and blinking of the eye is reduced.
     The animals kept cool if it is very hot by splashing cool water over them. They are not transported until they have regained consciousness.

This photo demonstrates, assistant Miranda Campbell applying eye drops to a sedated bear cub. The cub is ready for release and return to the wild

Animal care assistant Miranda Campbell opens the gate of the cage to let two 18 month old bear cubs experience once again the "wild freedom" wild bears deserve. These two cubs arrived at Bear With Us during the winter orphaned during the period of the fall bear hunt of 1999. Some cubs are in captivity up to a year depending when they are orphaned. There is no longer a spring bear hunt in Ontario; orphan bear cubs during the spring and early summer are less common.
Cubs are marked by ear tags prior to being returned to the wild.

What bears eat is a learned behavior. It is important they are fed natural foods so they can survive in the wild and not have to resort to peoples food

There is a high wounding rate during the bear hunt, which lasts about three months during the fall in Ontario. About one in seven escapes wounded according to Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources data.
This large male survived and was returned to the wild.