Pennsylvania Game News - April 2017 - 17

answered my request with exuberance
and excitement.
They live on a beautiful rural spread
that borders State Game Lands 48 and
contains several large outbuildings.
One building is unheated, but
equipped with water and good drainage. Here, the bear would be out of the
winter weather and, yet, seasonally cool
and secure in a well-padded culvert
trap den.
For the first two days, the bear
refused to eat or drink. But on the
third day, it accepted a section of jelly
bread containing one of the enormous
antibiotic pills.
Soon the bear was eating and drinking readily; the Hensels provided him
the very best of fruits, vegetables and
acorns.
I delivered portions of roadkilled deer weekly, and biweekly we
exchanged his den for a clean bear trap
lined with fresh straw.
Quite interestingly, the bear conﬁned
its toilet activities near the trap door
end, where it also was watered.
At the opposite end of the culvert
pipe, it maintained a carefully compacted bed of straw.
The bear's dens apparently were
comfortable; it was reluctant to leave
them when we exchanged traps.
So tidy were its living habits that the
den-exchange periods were extended.
When I advised the Hensels that
they could probably obtain waste, or
over-ripened produce from the same
area markets the local pig farmers do,
Pat replied emphatically, "Oh no! This
bear gets only the very best."
Under Pat's generous and loving
care, its weight gain was phenomenal.
How she managed to get all of those big
pills into that little bear in the required
APRIL 2017

time remains a mystery.
By late April, it was obvious the bear
was ready to return to the wild.
It appeared to be pushing 200
pounds, and its coat had ﬁlled in, displaying a healthy black sheen.
The bear seemed anxious to be free.
Spring was calling.
At noon on May 1, we towed the
ﬁnal temporary den of the bear's sixmonth rehabilitation up the east foot of
Wills Mountain to a level spot along the
border of State Game Lands 48 and the
Hensel's property. We situated the trap
with its door facing into the game lands.
A small crowd of well-wishers
waited to witness the bear's release.
Just prior to opening the trap door,
the Hensels posed for a photo next to
the trap, and the bear brieﬂy poked its
nose out of the small maintenance door
between them.
The deputies and I thanked the
Hensels for their exceptional patience,
generosity, and superb care.
Emotion caught in everyone's throat.
The bear's moment of freedom came
when Bob raised the trap's rear door.
We waited for several long minutes
until suddenly a black streak burst forth
and disappeared into the thick mountain
laurel so rapidly it remains a blur in our
memories.
As I turned to see the Hensels broad
smiles, I praised them.
"Wow! You certainly did a ﬁne job
with your patient."
"He didn't even pause to say goodbye," Pat replied with a laugh.
We all wished the bear well and
noted that none of us had observed any
hint of a limp as he streaked away and
into the forest on three legs.
17
Pennsylvania Game News - April 2017

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