From the Members' Journal - Yosemite
Fall, 2001 Issue

Bear Released in Yosemite Under New Program

An orphaned, 115-pound bear cub was hauled by sled across miles of meadows, stumps, and snowmounds to a den near Glacier Point last January, in what officials described as the first bear release of its sort in California.

"For 25 years, we've been dragging people out of the wilderness. It's something to drag something in," Yosemite Park Ranger Mike Durr said, summing up the effort to return the black bear to the wild.

The sedated bear, whose mother was euthanized by the National Park Service last summer after repeatedly harassing visitors -- including a camper who shot at the animal -- was put in the den by California Fish and Game officers and Yosemite resource managers. The orphaned cub had been taken to Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care in South Lake Tahoe, Calif., for rehabilitation.

The cub weighed only about 15 pounds after its mother was killed last spring. After six months or so or being nursed at the wildlife center, the male cub had grown to over 100 pounds when it was released.

The wildlife center, Park Service employees, and Fish and Game authorities geared up for weeks for the release in Yosemite. Yosemite wildlife biologist Kate McCurdy brought two colleagues to build the den near a stream and far enough away from civilization to limit its contact with humans. To track its progress, the park service tagged the bear and placed a transmitting collar on him.

Until an agreement between the Tahoe center and the Department of Fish and Game took effect in spring of 2000, orphaned bear cubs in California were either killed or sent to an out-of-state rehabilitation center before being released. Now, the animals are sent to the Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care facility for rehabilitation and release back into the wild. The center is the first to obtain a permit from Fish and Game allowing it to play such a role.

"This is very exciting," said Ann Bryant, executive director of a bear protection group at Tahoe, the BEAR League. "It is important to note that the success of this project proves that rehabilitation of these animals is possible, if people want to make it happen."

"I'm very confident about a cub's ability to survive," she said. "I've released a lot of different animals back into the wild and their instinct to survive and desire to eat their own food is very strong."