Orphaned Prince George cubs arrive at Smithers shelter

The two orphaned cubs of the mother black bear who attacked a jogger at Forests for the World yesterday have arrived in Smithers.

The RCMP previously incorrectly reported that both a sow and cub were put down as a result of the attack. (previous story)

Angelika Langen with the Northern Lights Wildlife Shelter says the cubs arrived at about 1:30am this morning on a Bandstra truck, and are still a bit drowsy.

“But what we are seeing so far is all normal, they’ve started eating and we did a quick exam when they came in this morning. We didn’t find anything broken, or anything like that because I understand they came out of a tree and fell.”

Langen says the cubs will stay in quarantine for 2 – 4 weeks before joining the other cubs in the enclosure.

There are now a total of eight bear cubs at the shelter, and another eight juveniles awaiting release. Langen noted that this is the earliest start to the season for them and that they have never had this many bears this early. The total number of bears fluctuates drastically from year to year; just eight at peak time last year, but 45 the year prior.

She says if all goes to plan, they will be released next spring when they would normally leave their mother.

“We are just happy to have a good relationship with both the Conservation Service and Bandstra to make quick rescues like this over long distances.” Langen said “It’s a group achievement, it’s always a lot of people involved in raising these cubs and it’s really nice to see everything come together.”