Did you wonder why we hold bears when we tell you not to? It’s not because we’re meanies.
There’s a reason and we would love beary much to tell you about it.
Let’s talk about!
(enjoy this 🧵 about 🐻)
There are a few adult female bears, called sows, in northern Michigan that are part of the DNR’s surrogate sow program.
These bears already have cubs of their own and know how to be a mama bear, as shown in this photo of a sow and three little shadows following her.
These surrogate sows have a GPS radio collar put on them that we can use to track where they are.
This lets us find them in their winter den in case an orphaned bear cub is found and needs to be placed with a mama for survival.
(orange collars are 🔥)
DNR researchers use radio telemetry to find collared sows in their winter dens.
This bear dug a hole in the side of a hill.
Some will use hollow trees, go under tree roots, or even winter under porches.
(bears are very good at winter hide and seek)
The sow is *very* carefully sedated and removed the den. She's part of the program because she’s a good candidate to be an adoptive mom, but we also use the opportunity to collect biological data from her.
This data is used for research and monitoring of long-term trends.
The sow is given a full body physical examination.
She is weighed, measured, has blood drawn, is fitted for a new radio collar, and monitored for vitals.
It takes about an hour for the exam to be completed.
The question: How do they weigh a sleeping bear you might ask?
The answer: A very strong metal pole, a canvas tarp, and 3-5 very strong humans... 💪😅
Now back to the bear cubs!
This sow gave birth to three cubs a few weeks ago. These cubs don’t have enough fur or fat reserves to keep warm without mom to snuggle up to.
That’s where the limited-term professional bear cuddling (dream job?) comes in.
Cubs are held inside jackets for about an hour during the sow’s check-up. They weigh between 3-6lbs and are easy to hold as long as you keep a close eye out for those claws!
You might imagine they smell like warm chocolate chip cookies. In reality it’s more like a wet musky dog.
With exam complete, the bears are placed back into the den for the remainder of their winter rest.
The sedative wears off shortly after and metabolizes in her body so there is no risk to the cubs.
Next year when we visit, we hope to find her and her three healthy yearlings.
How do orphaned cubs tie back into this?
The cub is taken to the location of the collared sow. To defend her youngins from us she shoos them up a tree and then runs away, hoping to lure danger away from the cubs.
While she’s gone, we place the cub on the tree and say farewell.
The newbie climbs up the tree to meet their new siblings. Will mom notice the addition? Not really. 🤣
The tree is slathered in a scented gel that sticks to the cubs as they descend. Now they all smell the same so she cares for each of them.
Ah, motherhood.
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