Four Bear Return to the Woods After Being Rehabbed
Over the past few months, I have shared the hard work that has been going on at the Friends of the Feathered and Furry Wildlife Center (FFFWC) when it comes to rehabbing orphan cubs and undernourished young bears. Now it is time to celebrate their return to the wilderness of the Hudson Valley.
Hudson Valley Wildlife Center Releases Four Rehabbed Bears
The FFFWC has a motto that says "Let Wild Be Wild". Their goal is to always return the Hudson Valley Wildlife they rehab to the wild. The FFFWC is the only licensed Facility in New York State that can care for bear cubs. For this reason, they have had an extraordinary number of cubs this Winter and Spring.
Don't hold me to the number, but somewhere in their posts, I thought I saw that they were caring for at least a dozen cubs and yearling bears. They have a great process from intake to release that has many stops along the way, one of which includes an enclosure where the bears can live and socialize, like in the video below.
READ More: Starving Bear Rescued and Brought to New York Bear Rehab Center
Good news came from the FFFWC bear den this week. It appears they have been able to release a few of the bears who are ready to go it alone out in the woods of New York. This past week, they released a total of 4 bears, one of which was known as Pumpkin Thief. He got his name after an adorable video of him stealing a pumpkin off a porch last fall, which circulated when he was found as an orphan.
The FFFWC had help from DEC Biologists help get the bears into cages for transport to the release site. The bear's unhappiness with human handling them was a good sign that they were ready to go, according to the FFFWC.
Watch Video of Bears Released by the Friends of the Feathered and Furry
READ More: Owl Saved After Chainsaw Injury
The Center still has 6 more yearlings who will hopefully be released soon and 5 orphaned cubs who will go to the outdoor enclosure at the FFFWC soon.
For updates, follow the Friends of the Feather and the Furry on Facebook.
Hudson Valley Wildlife Gallery
Gallery Credit: Paty Quyn
More From WRRV-WRRB
