Tough Love Cubs

Breaking bad behavior is tough work!

One of the main reasons the bear center has remained not only near and dear to my "biologist" heart but solvent to state and federal agencies is their commitment to research. Their purposeful mission of trying to improve and perfect their rehabilitation techniques not only increases the likelihood of a successful release but it exemplifies the center's dedication to their primary constituent... the bears themselves. For through their work, both trial and error, the world gains a better understanding of this wonderful creature and provides hope for those more-imperiled species where every individual matters to the perpetuance of the whole.

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The Call

Walk in the shoes of an ABR curator and you will soon discover learning is on ongoing process. Each bear that comes into the center brings new challenges. One of the greatest challenges brought upon the center came in the form of three tiny cubs from Virginia.

In May of 1999 I received a call from Denny Martin, lead bear biologist for the state of Virginia. He had a special favor to ask. His first question was whether or not we'd be interested in taking-in three orphaned black bear cubs. Not thinking too deeply I assured him we'd do whatever we could to help but I didn't consider it much of a favor since that was our job. That's when he broke the news to me.

"These aren't ordinary cubs...they're habituated," he said with stern unwavering voice. "They were hand raised and bottle fed since day one so they don't know how to be wild...you still up for taking them?"

At that point, I froze.

I wasn't exactly sure how to respond. We were in the business of taking in wild bears, ones that could be fattened up and released. What were we to do with habituated cubs?

"Denny, is it okay if I make a few phone calls first and get back to you?"

"Sure, no problem Daryl. I understand if you're not able to take them."

With a quick exchange of pleasantries I hung up the phone with Denny and began making some calls. Besides consulting with a few of the center's board members I contacted a few bear experts from both the National Park Service and the University of Tennessee. I unveiled to them a crazy idea I had to "make them wild". They all thought it was worth a shot. My second to last call was to the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency to not only advise them of our plan but to get their blessing to bring the bears in from out-of-state. Permission was granted.

My last call was to Denny to tell him the news. He was not only relied but intrigued at the idea.

The Plan

After consulting with everyone, including Denny, our plan was take in the three young bears and attempt to "wild them up" by using aversive conditioning techniques. This is simply a fancy term for using negative stimuli in an attempt to break bad behavior. In even simpler terms, we would literally scare the crap out of them whenever possible to once again make them wary of humans. Call it tough love but if they ever wanted to return to the wild they would have to learn to fear humans.

The Virginia Cubs

Denny arrived with the three cubs on a hot sweltering day. Without thinking, I had prepared the transfer cage to transport the cubs to the main enclosure but Denny soon reminded me it wouldn't be necessary. Since the cubs were accustomed being handled they could simply be picked up and transferred by hand.

It was yet another chance of a lifetime.

Denny carrying one of the new arrivals.

Though I had bottle-fed neonatal cubs the year prior I had never in my life handled an unsedated bear that actually looked like a real bear, although in a much more miniature form. Each of the three cubs weighed between 12-15 pounds and although they tolerated being picked up, they became quite ornery if they weren't being fed. This was definitely a bad sign since not only were they not afraid of us but the cubs actually sought us for food. Considering the cubs were already a handful, it made me shudder to think of a larger bear becoming agitated with me if I wasn't giving him his food.

After a quick check-up, the cubs were placed in the main enclosure and left alone. Denny and I then went over the aversive conditioning game plan and he left it up to me to determine when the cubs would be ready. Given their initial weight, it was going to be a couple of months at least of fattening them up, coupled with intensive training, before they could even be considered for release. Denny bid me farewell and good luck and hopped in his truck and headed North.

The Work Begins

Given the distress of a long hot trip from Virginia I decided to give the cubs a few days of solitude as they acclimated to their new digs.  Since the pens were prepped with scattered natural foods I need not feed them while they explored their new surroundings. My only task was to observe and record their behavior.

They were bears alright...curious and meddlesome like any young unsupervised child in a candy store . Unfortunately, every time I moved to a new vantage point behind the blinds, one or all the cubs would hear or detect my movements and approach the blind with eager curiosity. All bears prior had simply ignored or feared what they couldn't see. Had it not been for that worrisome behavior my hopes would have been much higher since they were just doing what they were taught since birth. It was time to begin the training.

The following day I had finished their daily feeding which consisted of flinging nuts and berries over the enclosure wall. This "manna from heaven" approach reinforces their need to scavenge for food while breaking any habits of coming to a routine bottle or food bowl. Unfortunately the cubs cared little for the raining bounty and continued to pursue my footfalls from behind the blind. What made it even worse was the cubs would begin to "hum" as they neared my location, a tell-tale sign of "comfort in my presence" though I had remained out of sight.

A day earlier I had prepared the area for our first aversive trial. I had purchased a garden hose with a high intensity spray nozzle. The plan was to reveal myself from behind the blinds and if a cub approached I would spray him with a high pressure stream of water. If he ran a way or avoided me altogether he would not receive the treatment. I can still clearly picture the very first attempt.

As I raised the blind material all three cubs initially tensed as they saw the black fabric rise. It was promising to see the reflexive instinct of fear coming from the cub. After the initial shock, however, all three cubs recognized my figure and made a beeline to me. The instant the cold water blast hit them they scattered and ran, one even climbed the nearest tree. The hose worked perfect.

I remained visible the next twenty minutes. As long as they acted the part and stayed away they remained free of the water-born persecution. The moment they investigated me or my implement of distress and approached, the aqueous onslaught resumed. After awhile they settled in a good distance away and the first trial came to a close. Over the next week or so the conditioning took place every time I walked the perimeter of their enclosure. I would show myself and blast them with water should they attempt to approach.

My demise, or should I say the technique's demise, came in the form of a heat wave. You see, bears often have a difficult time thermoregulating. In other words, black fur coats in hot humid weather make it quite difficult for bears to stay cool. This is why bears spend many lazy days of summer lounging in the shade. When the temps in Tennessee that summer began approaching 100 degrees, something in their minds clicked. The cold water spray was no longer a torture, it was a reward! They literally began running to me in hopes of being sprayed. Dam they were smart.

A change in tactics was required. I had to think of a deterrent that would keep the bears at a distance. Fortunately I was doing laundry that day.

What started out as a routine chore revealed the next tool in my bag of tricks. While fetching a fresh box of laundry detergent from the closet I stumbled upon a small case of pepper spray, the bear deterrent kind. This had been given to me in case of such an emergency. Since the cubs survival was at stake this so happened to be one of those emergencies.

Needless to say the pepper spray was a very effective deterrent. How do I know? I sprayed myself.
Please don't ask.

(Note to self: Be cognizant of the wind when using pepper spray.)

The bag of tricks continued. We deterred them with cattle prods, which has the equivalent shock of an electric fence. We threw in some pyrotechnics and I must say, never in my life did I think I'd be buying firecrackers for a work assignment. We even brought in a specialist with dogs to keep them treed every time the cubs approached. The treatments continued and the cubs grew.

Months later the three bears from Virginia were plenty big enough to survive on their own so I placed a call to Denny to come take a look at his bears. A few days later he was standing with me outside the bear pens at the center.

"How'd the conditioning work out?" Denny asked.

"Let's go in and take a look," I replied.

The Evaluation

I grabbed a can of pepper spray and the cattle prod as a precaution as we approached the pens. All three cubs, now very healthy looking (aka fat) were ambling around foraging for nuts as we entered the enclosure. Within an instant they rose to their feet, got a better look at the intruders and immediately shot to the tops of the trees.

Denny was ecstatic. It was exactly what he wanted to see.

I wasn't so sure.

"Not so fast Denny... watch this."

I then left him standing nearby the trees where the bears sought refuge and walked away...not to leave him alone, but to place the pepper spray and cattle prod outside the enclosure. I returned to continue the bear's evaluation. This time, there was no "tool" that could cause the bears distress.

After a moments hesitation and some brief vocalizations amongst the crew, the first bear began his descent. Soon afterwards his two mates followed, slowly shimmying down the tree butt first. Once on the ground they began their approach, constantly looking to see if I had something in my hands.

The slow cautious "stalk" continued until one of the bears came right up to Denny and began nuzzling his boot. Shortly thereafter he was humming for he had found comfort in us.

At that moment both of our hearts broke.

When will we learn?

Throughout the years numerous bears have passed through the thresholds of ABRs care, the vast majority of those bears go on and continue their life wild and free. Not all bears are so lucky. They have the "wild" stolen from them.  They no longer know how to be a bear and their lives are greatly changed, their lives are either shortened due to their bad behavior or they are forever convicted to a life confined within a cage. Sadly and all too often it is because of the selfish acts of people.

Habituation of bears, whether it be through the bottle feeding of cubs or the purposeful placement of food for them for is a tragedy. But not all tragedies are so blatant. Improper trash storage, inadvertent feeding, careless front and backcountry behavior, and simple ambivalence to the bear' presence often results in shorter lifespans for these wonderful creatures. If you truly love and care for these animals you will always be cognizant of how your behavior affects them. In other words, you will always "Bear In Mind" and follow all the safety guidelines. After all, those guidelines are mostly there to protect the bears!

Lastly, although some days are harder than others the good days far outweigh the bad and I can not help but be reminded of some very wise words of the great Winston Churchill...

"Success is not final, failure is not fatal:

it is the courage to continue that counts.”

And continue we shall.