Pennsylvania Game News - April 2019 - 43

A high creek cushioned the orphaned cubs as they came down with the tree they'd climbed, but
gathering them where they fell left no chance of staying dry, as Tioga County Game Warden Steve
Brussese found out, immediate left. At far left, Elk County Game Warden Jason Wagner and author
Tony Ross, the wildlife management supervisor for the Game Commission's Northcentral Region, place
two of the orphaned cubs on the tree they'd climb to meet their new siblings. At bottom left, Ross
places a cub in a backpack held by Cameron County Game Warden Wayne Hunt for the final release.

movements with the radio receiver.
Eventually, the sow saw us and sent her
cubs up a tree, then moved off and stood
watching us.
We moved quickly to the tree to prevent the cubs from climbing back down,
removed the orphaned cubs from the
backpack and placed them with the others.

REWARDING RESULTS
Because - as far as we know - bears
can't count, foster mothers generally treat
new cubs as their own.
But there's always a question of
whether foster mothers will adopt the cubs
we place with them.
The ear tags we attach to them help to
assure us of that.
The Game Commission sets out annually to tag about 600 bears statewide.
Monitoring the number of tagged bears
that are harvested helps to estimate the
population.
With four cubs on our hands, we
tagged each one, which meant we'd be
able to identify it should we encounter
it again - whether it was caught in a live
trap, killed by a vehicle or harvested in
the future.
Game Warden Hunt once each in
June and July trapped the same Cameron
County sow that fostered two of the cubs,
she still was with all five cubs.
Then, during the fall hunting season,
the female and one of her original cubs
were harvested, but no ear tags came in
from any of the foster cubs.
Then on June 8 the following year,
Hunt trapped one of the foster cubs we'd
let go in his district.
APRIL 2019

Meanwhile, one of the foster cubs
Wagner had placed into the den in 2017
had been found in the den with its foster
mother on Feb. 27, 2018, though it's
unknown what happened to the other cub.
Had it not been for the caller and the
team effort by Game Commission staff,
all four cubs likely would have perished
shortly after their mother was killed.
Rewarding experiences like this is why
I chose a biologist career with the Game
Commission.

WILDLIFE RESCUES
Rescues of injured or orphaned wildlife can be
risky endeavors and are best left to professionals.
Those who encounter wild animals in need of
help, can contact their nearest Game Commission
region office to report the incident and receive
instruction on how to proceed.
Only licensed wildlife rehabilitators may take in
injured animals; it's unlawful for ordinary citizens
to possess wildlife. Wildlife rehabilitators can
be contacted directly, and a statewide listing of
rehabilitators is available through the Pennsylvania
Association of Wildlife Rehabilitators website,
www.pawr.com.
Those taking to the outdoors in springtime
also should be aware that young wildlife could be
found anywhere at this time of year, and many
people each year mistakenly conclude that animals
appearing to be alone are orphaned. Oftentimes
a parent is present, but out of sight, and if people
intervene and remove the young animal from the
wild, they're taking that animal from its parent,
as well.
Whitetail fawns usually are found alone because
it's harder for predators to find them if adult deer
aren't around, and their mothers know this.
Remember this, please leave all wildlife in the
wild, and contact a professional if you find an
animal in need.

http://www.pawr.com

Pennsylvania Game News - April 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - April 2019