Bear cubs captured in Tahoe learning to be wild again at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue

(InEDC) BY CHARLES SWANSON, THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
August 19, 2023, 7:02AM

Three black bear cubs captured earlier this month in a South Lake Tahoe neighborhood are “all doing really good” at Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue, their temporary home in Petaluma, according to a state wildlife official

The cubs were brought to the rehabilitation center after being captured along with their mother Aug. 4. Their mother is known to officials as 64F and is one of the bears responsible for at least 21 home break-ins in the Tahoe area since 2022, officials said.

You might also like

Pedaling Through History: The Scenic Placerville Bike Path

June 25, 2024

National Pony Express Re-Ride Underway

June 24, 2024

Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue is one of four wildlife rehabilitation facilities in the state permitted to rehabilitate bears and was the only one with space for the bears.

The mother bear, deemed a “conflict bear” after losing her fear of people, was sent to a wildlife sanctuary in Springfield, Colorado, because California doesn’t have sanctuary space for such animals, according to Jordan Traverso, deputy director of Fish & Wildlife’s office of communications, education and outreach.

Since officials believe the cubs joined their mother in the break-ins, the California Department of Fish & Wildlife hopes that at the Petaluma center they will unlearn that “conflict” behavior and be able to be released back into the wild, Traverso said.

“There’s no human interaction, it’s totally the opposite,” Traverso said of the rehabilitation, adding that bears must maintain their natural fear of humans in order to be able to be released in the wild…