The suspected thief of several missing bird feeders is still at loose on the North Shore.
An orphaned bear cub, first spotted in Delbrook, was last reported on Brand Street in Tempe Heights on Dec. 2, said Christine Miller, education coordinator for the North Shore Black Bear Society.
"We're so worried about him," said Miller, adding that anybody who sees the cub should notify authorities immediately. "Everybody wants to get him safely away for the winter."
Wildlife officials are concerned that the cub could become a problem bear in the spring if he isn't rescued soon.
Angela Fontana, senior animal care supervisor at Critter Care Wildlife Society, estimates that the cub is around 11 kilograms, or the size of a cocker spaniel. "They need to be at least double his weight to hibernate, so he'd be awake all winter," she said. "The only food source he's likely to have is garbage, mostly from people's backyards," she said.
During one incident, a dog spooked the cub into bolting while conservation officers were already on their way.
Residents should keep dogs on a leash if they see any new bear signs in their neighbourhood, Miller warned. "Most dogs would pursue a bear," she said. "It's a strong instinctive thing."
Bear cubs are usually with their mother for the first year and a half of their lives, but this cub is only about 10 months old, said Miller. The mother's fate is a mystery, although she could have been hit by a car, she said.
It's also possible that the mother was startled by something and lost track of her cub, although this is unlikely, said Miller. "Female bears are very good mothers, so it's not common for that to happen.
"She teaches them everything she can, what to eat, how to behave around danger, how to climb trees, all those things," she said.
A new home is waiting for the cub at Critter Care Wildlife Society in Langley, where four other bear cubs are already in hibernation.
Critter Care has two bear enclosures where the cubs have limited contact with humans. "We bring in forests and branches for bedding and find a lot of natural foods like skunk cabbage in the spring," said Fontana. "We also give bears live trout to practise fishing.
"When they're orphaned, they don't have their mother to show them the ropes, so we give them a safe place to grow up and encourage natural behaviours that they would usually do with mom," she said.
Food is hidden throughout the enclosure under logs or up trees to encourage the cubs to forage for it, Fontana said.
Cubs are usually released around June to the general area that they came from, but this is determined by the biologist and conservation officer, Fontana said.
Any sightings should be reported to conservation officers at 1-877-952-7277. Residents are also asked to call the North Shore Black Bear Society at 604-317-4911, so volunteers can be ready to help.
People should not approach the cub, and dogs in the area should be kept inside.
