Brandon Sun - PRINT EDITION
“We recognize that when you release a rehabilitated animal, you’re giving it a second chance at being a wild animal, and that’s a successful outcome from a wildlife rehabilitation point of view.”
— Jim Duncan, Manitoba Conservation
While their hearts may be in the right place, anyone who believes that Manitoba Conservation did the wrong thing by releasing two young bear cubs back into the wild should give their heads a shake.
Provincial officials have only acted in the best interests of the animals.
As it has been widely reported for several weeks, a single male black bear cub was found by the side of a St. Malo-area road in late March by local resident Rene Dubois, who said the cub was malnourished and orphaned.
The CBC reported that Dubois and his wife nursed him back to health with milk and formula from a baby bottle, as well as honey and fruit.
Initially, Dubois said he had contacted an official with Manitoba Conservation about the animal, but was told it would likely need to be destroyed. Not satisfied with that answer, the couple decided to try to find a different solution.
They nicknamed the cub Makoon and tried to get the bear into local animal sanctuaries — an unsuccessful venture as these places don’t take bears.
Then less than two weeks after he contacted Manitoba Conservation, officials from the government department took Makoon away.
From that point on, Makoon spent his days with another orphaned bear cub at the Assiniboine Park Zoo and separated from human interference, as it should have been all along. Under the supervision of wildlife biologists, both animals had learned to play, climb and forage for food during their time at the zoo. As a result, they were deemed rehabilitated enough to return to the wild.
Last week, the two cubs, described by provincial officials as in “excellent condition” and “quite large for their age,” were released back into the wild in a remote part of the province. The province would not say exactly when or where in Manitoba the two bears were released, though they noted the area has a variety of plentiful food sources including eggs, fish and berries.
As Jim Duncan observes above, that is a blessing for the cubs, who were given a second chance at being what they are — wild animals. As the National Post reported, Manitoba, like other provinces, assesses all its orphaned cubs and those deemed unfit for the wild may either be euthanized or relocated to zoos if there is space.
However, their release occurred in spite of protests by Winnipeg Humane Society chief executive Bill McDonald who called the province’s actions “virtually a death sentence.” McDonald wasn’t alone — at least 40 people rallied outside the zoo on Wednesday afternoon and the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Grand Chief Derek Nepinak waded into the controversy by saying he too was upset by the decision.
Pictures and video of the cute little bear cub have flooded news media and Internet sites across Manitoba, feeding an outpouring of both curiosity and sympathy for Makoon’s fate. There’s even been a petition with 10,000 signatures asking the province not to release Makoon into the wild.
This is simply foolishness. Bears are not domesticated animals and they should not be treated as if they are, no matter how cute they may appear. They are far more dangerous when they become used to humans — ask any rural resident who lives around the Riding Mountain National Park region.
Were the bears released too early? The Humane Society may say yes, but bear experts here and in Minnesota, who have much greater experience with wildlife, say it comes down to the bear’s mental or physical health.
“The longer that you keep them in captivity, you obviously increase their body mass and their general physical health, but you also change their behaviour so that they become more accustomed to people,” Minnesota-based wildlife biologist Dave Garshelis told the Winnipeg Sun. “People weigh those two things very differently.”
While it may seem heartless to release these young animals back into the wild, we have to ask what scenario would be worse: life in the wild as nature intended — however short — or a choice between a long life in a zoo behind bars as amusement for the public, or destruction?
Perhaps the biggest lesson here is that the public should leave wildlife well enough alone and let nature take its course.
Republished from the Brandon Sun print edition June 22, 2012
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“We recognize that when you release a rehabilitated animal, you’re giving it a second chance at being a wild animal, and that’s a successful outcome from a wildlife rehabilitation point of view.”
— Jim Duncan, Manitoba Conservation
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“We recognize that when you release a rehabilitated animal, you’re giving it a second chance at being a wild animal, and that’s a successful outcome from a wildlife rehabilitation point of view.”
— Jim Duncan, Manitoba Conservation
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