2 orphaned bear cubs to be released back into wild under new program January 7, 2001 - Associated Press SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. (AP) -- Two orphaned bear cubs will be released back into the wild Tuesday after being nursed for the last six months or so at a local wildlife center. The release of the cubs -- one in Yosemite National Park and the other in Trinity County -- is the first of its kind in California under an agreement between the center and Department of Fish and Game. One of the cubs weighed only about 15 pounds after its mother was shot in Yosemite late last spring. The other cub weighed only about seven pounds when it was found without its mother in Trinity County. Now, the male cubs weigh about 100 pounds. "They're big and healthy and they're ready to go," said Ann Bryant, executive director of the local BEAR League. "It's real hard to let them go, but we know they're meant to survive in their own natural world." Before the agreement took effect last spring, 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 here 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," Bryant said."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." The cubs will be placed in dens near where they were found last year. Although they're not in complete hibernation yet, the bears are expected to awaken in the spring in good health and with skills to survive in the wild. The bears were trained to dislike and avoid people, Bryant said. "I'm very confident about their 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." The hardest part is that the bears will have to be separated, she added. Under Fish and Game policy, the cubs must be released within 50 miles of where they were found. "They play together and think they're brothers." Bryant said. "To separate them is a little difficult for us."