On January 22, a homeowner in Shenandoah County, Virginia, was outside cutting wood. He heard the cries of a young animal and went to investigate; he found three young Black Bear cubs on the ground between two trees. He left the cubs where they were and resumed cutting wood; when he checked on them later, the cubs were still there, and there was no sign of their mother. Snow was beginning to fall directly onto the cubs, so the homeowner took them into his house and called the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Due to the situation and impending winter weather, the DGIF biologist recommended bringing the three cubs to the Wildlife Center. In speaking with officials at DGIF, the thought is that the sow was scared away from her cubs by the sound of the chainsaw and did not have time to return to them before it began snowing. A volunteer transporter drove to pick up the cubs; rehab intern Jordan Herring met the transporter in Harrisonburg to bring the cubs the rest of the way to Waynesboro.

Dr. Meghan, the Center's veterinary intern, examined the three male cubs when they arrived. Each cub was bright and alert, highly vocal, and active. Dr. Meghan found that the cubs were in good body condition with no injuries. Each cub was slightly dehydrated, and one was hypoglycemic, though was not exhibiting any symptoms. The cubs received fluids and a small amount of karo syrup and were placed in an incubator in the Center's ICU. The three cubs are about two- to three-weeks-old and range from 635 - 654 grams.

The cubs are currently bottle-fed five times a day, every four to five hours. The staff is closely monitoring the cubs' weights as well as their blood glucose levels. The Wildlife Center is working closely with DGIF; if a DGIF biologist is able to find an appropriate wild surrogate mother, the cubs will likely be fostered onto her.



You can help the Wildlife Center care for these three black bear cubs; your donation will help provide specialized formula and round-the-clock care. Please help!