Three bear cubs found abandoned in a washroom in Banff made their way to Rosseau over the weekend, for rehabilitation at the Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary.
It didn’t take long for the orphaned bear cubs to get comfortable.
“They’re very playful. They’re great. They are in great shape,” said Janalene Kingshott from the sanctuary.
After a long journey from out west, the three female cubs arrived in Toronto by plane Saturday night.
“It’s about twelve to fifteen hours,” said Howard Smith, Managing Director of the sanctuary. “Had to fly from Kelowna which is another five hours of driving throughout the mountains.”
Their journey to Simcoe County started after they were found in a park bathroom in Banff. In 2010 the government introduced legislation that prohibits the rehabilitation and release of bears back into the wild.
“Under the provincial rules, if they had applied, they would have been euthanized,” says Smith.
Parks Canada asked Aspen Valley to step in.
The six pound cubs are still wild animals. Extra steps must be taken for them to be properly reintegrated into the wild.
“When we feed the cubs…we’ll actually put a blanket over top of us, that’s been with another bear,” says Kingshott. “It kindof minimizes the human scent a bit.”
“Initially they’re in a fairly small enclosure for the first little while. In a couple of months they’ll go outside,” says Smith.
After a year of rehabilitation at the Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary the three bear cubs will fly back home to Banff, Alberta.
