Making Cubs

I have written many a blogs and told countless stories about black bears that I have known. Spending a portion of my career taking care of orphaned and injured cubs was not only a once-in-a-lifetime blessing but it was also an incredible learning experience, much more so than any book or lesson plan can give. That's is because higher education prepares you for generalities. It is only when you get to specialize and get your hands in the mix that you truly learn how incredibly complex and beautiful some things are.

If you have been a follower of my blog for any period of time I'm sure you have realized by now that I am truly fascinated by bears. They encompass all attributes, ranging from powerful and fearsome to gentle and playful. Yet their biological uniqueness is what I find most interesting. The combination of their unequalled sense of smell, their sheer size and strength, coupled with their remarkable intelligence makes them a truly special animal to begin with but also throw in their hibernation and reproductive adaptations and you have an animal that is not only fit to survive but one that lands squarely on top of the food chain. With understanding comes appreciation, it is my hope the lessons I write will instill a greater appreciation for the animals that walk among us.

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Most people have seen a newborn fawn, while many may have even witnessed it as it took its first wobbly and uncertain steps. I also imagine everyone, as a child, has peered into a nest containing the fragile wide-mouthed, featherless forms of recently hatched birds. And undoubtedly most folks have tried catching tadpoles in a waning and muddy spring puddle. As certain as death, almost as certain is birth. It happens all the time and all around us.

So how come no one ever sees new born bears?

I am not talking about those rascally buggers that frolic around and follow their mom at a clumsy gallop. At that point, those cubs are already close to six months old. I'm talking about the wet-behind-the-ears, eyes-still-closed look of a bear that has just been born. Believe it or not there is a reason why few have seen this and hence the lesson begins.

Making Cubs: In the beginning...

I am not going to go into too much detail about how a male and female bear get together but it occurs in early summer and although I can't prove it, I'm sure the courtship includes a healthy dose of Barry White (or should I say Bear-y White), a bed of roses and a heap of chocolate covered berries strewn about the forest floor. All kidding aside, when the deed gets done the end result is a fertilized egg. And this is where bears begin to separate themselves. Bears have an amazing evolutionary adaptation called "delayed implantation". Before I explain what that is, let me first explain what happens typically in mammals once an egg becomes fertilized.

In most mammals, once the sperm enters the egg and fertilization occurs, the fertilized egg begins its developmental process. To put it simply, it attaches to the uterine wall and almost immediately begins to grow. In other words, pregnancy begins shortly after conception.

Now let's talk about bears again.

Remember my last blog about hibernation and how amazingly cool bears are when it comes to sleeping through the winter? They pretty much burned all their fat reserves and use very little of their muscle to help them survive the winter. Well, what would happen if a bear didn't have enough fat? It's body would have to resort to using energy stored in more valuable tissues and organs, thus seriously impacting the health of the animal.

Can you imagine if a female bear entered its den three or four months pregnant?

The stress of hibernation alone may seriously jeopardize not only the life of the cubs but also the life of the mother. Thus, female bears have an amazing adaptation. It is called delayed implantation. Let me explain...

Back in the summer, after Barry White played and the bears had their "moment", the female's body did an incredible thing...it called a "time-out". It more or less told the egg or eggs (since they usually give birth to multiple cubs) to "hold off and wait a while" before implanting in the uterus, which ultimately would start the eggs growing into embryos and eventually into little bears. The eggs were literally held in the state of suspended animation all the way up until the fall. That is what we call delayed implantation.

Bears are extremely small at birth compared to their adult size.

The female's body was literally waiting to see how much fat she accumulated prior to entering the den for hibernation. If she was underweight and at risk of dying through the hibernation if she gave birth, her body would abort the eggs in late fall. This would give her a better chance of surviving hibernation. If on the other hand, she was fat and healthy, her eggs would implant and start growing around the time she entered the den. And thus this answers another question about why cubs are born so small. They are typically born in late January and early February meaning they literally have only been growing for a few months!

Now onto the actual birthing...

I am sure many who read this would love to have given birth to their kids when they were tucked snugly in their warm cozy bed. Believe it or not that is exactly what female bears do. Though they may be somewhat awake, they are still in the midst of their hibernation when their cubs are born. Remember, their bodily functions slow tremendously during hibernation so mom is not up and around doing too much. Given the fact that they give birth in the middle of their long winter's nap, I would say female bears have it quite easy when it comes to childbirth. Can you imagine waking up and finding multiple "kids" you didn't have when you went to sleep?

The Den Life: Moms sleep...Cubs eat.

From a cub standpoint, they have one job. After they are born, they climb up to mom's teat and suckle. That's pretty much all they do for a few months until the spring time comes.

Ain't that somethin'!

Alas, so much more to say and so much more to learn but I think I will save it for another blog. For some reason I simply cannot get Barry out of my mind.

Note:

Please leave all wildlife alone.

People are captivated by newborn animals, so much so they sometimes rescue them when they don't need rescuing. It may be their cuteness or perhaps their fragility that is the lure for the would-be rescuer. Regardless of the reason, it is almost certainly not necessary for there is no better caregiver than the one that provided the life. If there is any concern whatsoever for a newborn wild animal, please contact the proper authorities first (state wildlife agency or rehabilitation facility). It's for their sake, not yours.

Super Sleepers



Black bears - Super Sleepers

As I write this blog, bears across North America are in the midst of hyperphagia. That's a nerdy techy-term biologists use to describe the insane feeding binge bears are on while trying to pack on the pounds in preparation for their long winter's sleep. Though I have written blogs about their feeding behaviors and their favorite foods (Acornology 101), I have yet to describe their most amazing adaptive feature of all...hibernation.

Hibernation is a general term used to describe long periods of inactivity sometimes due to extreme cold, but mostly due to lack of food. To put it simply, animals decide to "sleep" through the winter since food resources are scarce or non-existent. But given the fact that winter, especially in the northern climes can last months on end, how can an animal survive the entire winter without eating or drinking? That, my friends, is the crux of this amazing adaptation. And bears do it better than any other animal.
 

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Complex Biology Made Simple

Instead of starting off by describing the life processes necessary for an animal to hibernate, let's start by thinking about your car. Say you were to fill up your gas tank to run a test on fuel efficiency. In other words, what's the optimum rate an engine needs to operate in order to stay running the longest? The answer is pretty straightforward, the slower the engine operates, the longer it will take to burn the gas in the tank. For example, a car driving 70 mph down the highway is going to burn through its tank of gas faster than one idling in the driveway, sitting in the parked position.

And Voila'!!! You just learned everything you need to know about hibernation!
 

Hibernating animals shut their bodies down to conserve energy.

Much like a car, animals more-or-less have to put their bodies in "Park" so they can survive the winter on their respective tank of gas (fat reserves). Placing their bodies in "park" and idling through the winter, however is what is truly interesting and amazing.

Hibernating animals need to drastically reduce the amount of energy (gas) they expend. As most of you know, being active and exercising burns up a lot of energy. So the first thing an animal must do when entering hibernation is to stop moving, hence the "sleeping" part.

Here is the issue...all mammals, even when sleeping, must maintain a constant body temperature and must continue to perform basic life functions. Things like breathing and maintaining a heartbeat to keep their blood pumping are just a few of the more important functions since it keeps them alive. Therefore, it takes a considerable amount of energy, even when sleeping, to maintain their basic bodily functions. And this is what makes a hibernator so special.

Hibernators almost completely shut off their bodily functions.

Their respiration rate drops to next to nothing.

Their heartbeat is barely detectable at only a beat or two per minute.

And their body temperature drops to just above freezing.

In more technological terms, their overall metabolism drops 50 percent for roughly every 20°F they lose in body temperature. This means they're burning half the energy they would if they were only sleeping. When they go into complete "hibernation mode," their bodies are literally in a frozen coma.

In this nearly-frozen state, they barely expend any energy but they're also barely alive. In fact, it takes them quite a bit of time, possibly a day or so to "wake up". It's kinda like trying to start a car that hasn't been started in a long long time. It may actually take awhile to get it going.

Pretty neat, huh?

And then there are bears.

But wait a minute....aren't bears hibernators?

Yes and no.

Bears hibernate... but they are not true-hibernators. They are what we call super-hibernators. Or as I like to call them "super sleepers". Here's why bears are so extremely special and a phenomenon in the animal world.

When bears hibernate...

Their breathing slows to only about a breath per minute.

Their heart may beat only about once every 20 seconds.

But this is where it gets interesting...

Their body temperature only drops a smidgen, from roughly 99°F to 92°F. Yet, with only this slight temperature drop, their metabolism has already decreased by 75 percent. They're literally just sleeping but barely expending any energy in the process and because their body temp is so high and close to normal, they can literally wake up in just a few minutes.

Crazy is the fact that although they are sleeping fairly close to how you and I would, they won't have a need to eat, drink, or poop for up to six months! I could barely make it through the night without doing one of those three!

Crazier still is the fact that humans would die of toxicity from their kidneys not adequately filtering the waste products in their bloodstream if we tried going that long without removing the waste.

And craziest of all...bears barely lose any muscle mass, they primarily burn only fat. Bedridden humans, on the other hand, usually lose muscle and bone mass first if they stay in bed too long. Can you imagine going to sleep for a few months then waking up and all your fat is gone? I would be in heaven!

If the medical world could unlock the mysteries of bear hibernation, it could lead to amazing discoveries. Not only could they make huge strides in their fight against diabetes, but it could eventually lead to a weight loss system that actually works while you sleep. Imagine, all those gimmicky late-night weight-loss infomercials would go away. That alone would be the greatest benefit to society.

Alas, the medical community is still perplexed as to has how bears are able to do this so we patiently wait in infomercial purgatory.

But now you see why bears are freaking amazing.

 

Deacon - A Miracle Cub (Part 3)

Have you ever awoken from a deep slumber without opening your eyes? 

You seize awareness yet you remain perfectly still?

My body told me morning had arrived yet I knew I wasn't in the comfortable folds of my down comforter, nor was my head on my nice comfy-cozy pillow. The cold hard concrete floor reminded me of the absent luxuries I had grown accustomed to while the bag of dry dog food that crinkled beneath my shifting neck assured me I wasn't in my bedroom.

Suddenly, crystal clear imagery began flooding my mind.

My eyes remained closed as I watched the scenes play out before me as if I were seated in a matinee. I remembered watching a small bear frolicking playfully in my midst. Never before had I interacted so intimately with a bear. I was almost able to reach out and touch it. I tried desperately to recall the rest of the dream for it seemed so gosh darn real.

Then the doofus stick slapped me upside the head and I immediately recalled my real-life situation and I was soon inundated with the overwhelming swell of reality. It was all coming back to me.

Before I nodded off I was playing with Deacon, a small cub from the rugged mountains of east Tennessee that had but a few hours to live. His fate was most assuredly sealed due to the selfish acts of some uncaring people. Besides stealing the bear's freedom they also caused him to contract a severe case of aspiration pneumonia. Unless a miracle happened his time on earth was quickly ticking away. I was quickly coming to my senses.

It was quiet in the maintenance building.

I feared the worst and I was afraid to open my eyes. I already felt the sadness growing in my gut. At least I knew in my heart I gave Deacon a good final night.

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I felt the sun’s rays beaming through the lone window of the maintenance building and decided it was time to do what inevitably needed to be done. Slowly but surely I opened my eyes.

Yet there was still blackness.

I blinked.

And then I blinked again.

There were the sun's rays streaming through the blackness...

...the blackness of his fur!

Deacon was lying smack dab in front of me!

Not only was he lying right in front of me, he had snuggled up against my arm and had come to rest there.

And most amazingly of all.... he was breathing!

I didn't even care that I was spooning a bear...Deacon made it through the night!

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While Deacon was still dusting cobwebs from his rapidly awakening brain I scooped him up and placed him back in his cage. For some reason he didn't mind a bit which was a far cry from my struggles the night before. Once inside, he walked over, lapped up a little bit of milk and curled up on the fleece blanket in the far corner of his cage. He still seemed a bit groggy.

Then it dawned on me on how his body was still fighting a raging war within. Before he drifted back off to sleep, I inserted his meds into a peanut butter slathered apple and fed it to him. I was praying this was the turning point and that things would slowly begin improve. They just had to.

For the next couple of days I spent quite a bit of time in his company. This undoubtedly assured there was more humming than coughing coming from his tattered lungs. Miraculously the coughing subsided and he began to gain his strength. I kept in close contact with Dr. Ramsey giving him constant updates on the bear's condition. He was thrilled and equally amazed the bear had made it through his ordeal. In fact, since he was no longer coughing, he was quite optimistic the bear was over the hump.

I was both relieved but in a strange way, saddened because of what was about to come next.

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This is where the story takes a down turn for this is not a success story.

Bears are not meant for confined spaces.

The ensuing weeks found me contacting numerous wildlife sanctuaries across the country. Although most people envision a wildlife sanctuary as a glorious haven for an unreleasable animal, that is often not the case. Finding a home for a young black bear cub was next to impossible. I cannot tell you the number of places that turned me down simply because they did not have "room" for another bear or that they did not have a "need" another bear, especially a male. This last statement made me cringe thinking of what potentially occurred at some places if they were only interested in females.

Needless to say, not many places met the standards we would consider acceptable. Keep in mind, though many places are licensed to accept animals, permitting requirements vary tremendously throughout the country. Fortunately we found a sanctuary in another state that agreed to take him in, and before we knew it, Deacon was gone.

Though Deacon had survived his precipitous ordeal, it made me wonder what his life was going to be like now that he was going to be placed in a cage, regardless of its size. Bears are not meant to be confined, they are meant to run wild and free. And Deacon would never again have a chance to do this.

This brings us to the lessons learned.

Yes, the bear center hurdled an obstacle to care for a severely debilitated animal. They proved without a doubt they had the capacity to fight against long odds and that is a true feather in their cap. The facilities as well as the personnel at the center, and their partners, have always exhibited the utmost commitment and expertise when it comes to "bear care". But they are not miracle workers. Especially when it comes to providing an after-triage life for a "rescued" bear.

In other words, their story does not always end with "and they lived happily ever after".

This undoubtedly is the case when a bear is deemed unreleasable. His fate, unfortunately, is sealed and he shall never run free.

This sad circumstance is the fault of the HUMANS… no one else.

We need to communicate with individuals who don't who don't know how to behave around bears and influence them to change their misguided ways. Not for their sake but for the sake of bears like Deacon.

This is why bear education needs to be the first and foremost priority for any organization that is an advocate for wild bears. With a primary component to teach people how NOT to make "friends" with bears, whether intentionally or unintentionally, then hopefully we will never have to read another Deacon story. And I will never again have to write one.

Deacon - A Miracle Cub (Part 2)

WHAT?!?!

Was my immediate gut-churning reaction.

What do you mean, "Don't be surprised if he doesn't make it through the night?"

I immediately felt foolish asking that of Dr. Ramsey since I knew exactly what it meant.

"The pneumonia's pretty advanced. We did some chest x-rays on him and to be quite honest, were surprised he's lasted this long. His lungs are pretty shot."

"So what am I supposed to do?" was my downcast but curious reply.

"Make him comfortable," replied Dr. Ramsey. "And hope like hell the antibiotics kick-in in time."

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The ride home was pretty somber. Deacon's continued coughing didn't help lighten the mood much either. We had bears die on us unexpectedly before, that's the nature of our business, it was the "expectedness" of this situation that was throwing me for a loop. I reached back and laid my hand on the door of his cage in a gesture to show the cub that "I felt for him". His sedation was wearing off and he groggily wobbled over and began licking my fingertips through the cage. Within moments he began making the sound. It was the vibrating humming sound a cub emits when it is nursing off mom. It's a sign of contentment and comfort. Anyone that has had any exposure to young bears knows the sound well. I refer to it as the "hum".

Knowing he desperately wanted to nurse I made a knuckle with my finger and extended it through the wiring on the door. He immediately latched onto my knuckle with growing fervor. His humming increased but more importantly is coughing ceased.

The maintenance building served as the makeshift ICU.

By the time I arrived back at the center Deacon and I had come to two clear understandings. One... I was going to be his bud for whatever time he had left. And two... no matter how hard he tried, milk simply was not going to flow out of my knuckle. I did know one thing for certain, he was hungry and I was determined to make his last day on earth a good one. I placed him down in the maintenance building as the impromptu ICU and began to get to work.

It was now early evening and I had to prepare a meal for him. He hadn't eaten all day so I presumed he was famished. Typically he would be getting the standard "healthy" cub ration which consisted of natural foods such as nuts and fruits supplemented with a little bit of dry dog food. But as the circumstances dictated, this wasn't a typical meal. I dropped a few bunches of grapes and a couple of apples into his cage and filled up his water bowl. The little guy hadn't eaten in almost a day so he attacked the offering with reckless abandon. This allowed me to slip out of the maintenance building without him noticing. I then ran up to the house to carry out the second half of my plan.

I then proceeded to raid my fridge.

There was Deacon, an innocent cub, the victim of human selfishness and ignorance, now sitting on death row completely oblivious to his fate. It wasn't just my duty to care for him and provide him comfort in his waning hours, it was my moral obligation. It was my way of apologizing for the actions of others who know no better or simply don't care. At least maybe I could show him that our species consists of a few folks that aren't that bad.

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"What the heck are you doing with all our bacon and peanut butter?" was the first thing out of my wife's mouth when she saw me raiding the kitchen. After filling her in with the details she was soon searching for more items Deacon might like. She reminded me of the most important items of all... Milk!

Armed with goodies in hand, I went back down to spend the last few hours with him.

As soon as I entered the building Deacon perked up and started humming. He had completely consumed the offering of grapes and apples like I knew he would but he was obviously still hungry and boy did I have a treat for him! My first order of business though was giving him his meds. I needn't worry, the bacon-wrapped pill went down his gullet so fast I don't believe he even had time to taste it. My next and last order of business was simple...hang out with him to help keep him comfortable and give him a few treats every now and then and for the next two hours that was exactly what I did.

It was now almost 9 PM and the sun had already bid farewell. As much as it tore me up inside it was time for me to bid the same. I made sure his water bowl was full OF MILK and that there were warm blankets for him to curl up on within his cage. I extended my knuckle to him one last time and allowed him to suckle on it for a bit longer. Letting go was difficult and it had absolutely nothing to do with the small suction he was placing on my finger. With pain and sadness in my heart I broke free and made my way to the door. He immediately began bawling. He knew I was leaving him. I bid him farewell one last time, closed the door, and shut off the lights. Listening to him cry as I made my way back up to the house was one of the saddest things I have ever heard.

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After a while, I settled into the recliner in my living room to record the notes for the day. My thoughts were distracted. There I was nice and warm, snuggled into a comfortable chair while a six-month old cub lie alone possibly for the last time.

I couldn't live with myself if he did.

A minute later I found myself getting dressed to head back down to the maintenance building. In my heart I believed it was to keep him company but in my mind I realized it was also to keep me company.

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Although it was a low worn-out muffled sound, I could still hear him bawling as I approached the darkened maintenance building. It was more of a depressed whine. I was hating myself for stressing him out. The rattling of the door knob was just what he needed. His whining changed from a depressed bawl to an excited cry. He was up on his feet in no time pressing his body on the cage closest to me. He reminded me of an excited dog that simply wanted his belly rubbed.

I immediately extended my finger and instantly he began suckling on my knuckle. His excited hum comforted me knowing his stress was no more. I apologized for leaving him in the first place and settled in to spend some quiet time with him hoping he'd relax and eventually fall asleep. If there wasn't a steel cage separating the two of us I'm sure he would have crawled up in my lap and peacefully dozed off.

Then the gears started grinding.

A 25-pound cub, though cute, can be deceivingly strong.

What if...?

Do you think he would...?

Nah, I'm sure he wouldn't, would he...?

After all, the officer did...

The debate in my mind was raging.

Should I?

Then the thought struck me. "When in your life will you ever have a non-releasable cub needing your comfort on possibly his last day on earth?" It was a no-brainer.

Not knowing how he would react and the simple fact that I had never handled a live bear in my life, at least one that wasn't heavily sedated or that weighed less than a few pounds, I eased the dead bolt on the door slowly to the left to the unhinged position. I kept a firm grip on the door trying to gauge his strength as he pushed on the other side. Dang… these animals are powerful.

Throwing caution to the wind I let the door go. Besides strong he was fast. He was out of the cage and in my lap before the door fully opened.

He curled up, searched for my knuckle, then started humming. The loudest hum I had heard from him yet. He was not only content, he was happy.

Then it hit me.

I had a freaking bear in my lap...

… and he was curled up wanting to be there!!!

I would be fooling you if I tried to go into eloquent detail describing the range of emotions going through my mind while I was with Deacon. Quite simply, it was shock and awe. The former because never in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine "holding" a bear in my bare hands and the latter because of the sheer strength a mere 25-pound animal could exhibit. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't worried in the physical sense because I firmly believe he meant me no harm. It was in the unintended sense where if he began to play too rough he wouldn't know his limitations.

My trepidation was all for naught.

Deacon simply wanted a companion to keep him company. For the next few hours he was either sitting in my lap or exploring the maintenance shed or nibbling on a treat. The whole while, the hum was never long absent. I can honestly say without hesitation he was enjoying his last few hours. Truth be told, I was probably enjoying it more so than him.

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Alas, the time had come.

It was now well after midnight and like a parent looking over a tired child, it was time to call it a night. Ironically, I was the tired child. I grabbed a few grapes, danced them on the tip of Deacon's nose and tossed them into the open cage.

He showed no interest.

I tried apples.

Again… No interest.

Unfortunately I was out of bacon but no worries… Peanut butter to the rescue!

No interest.

He simply would not enter the cage on his own free will. Apparently he now liked freedom more than food.

I had to figure out a way to get them back in his cage so I resorted to brute force. Since I was able to pick him up in my arms I figured I would simply pick him up and place him back in the cage.

I figured wrong.

The first two attempts simply saw him go spread eagle in the doorway hanging on tight to all four corners of the door frame. Picture if you will, a trampoline with it's fabric spread taut over the frame. Yeah… that was his body in the doorway. And he was just as "springy" when I pushed on him! The fact that they are so dexterous with all four of their limbs make them ten times more difficult to deal with than most animals. I guess I should have thought that part through.

My third try saw me pinning his arms down in an attempt to "sneak" him in unknowingly.

You ever see a bear quickly climb a tree by using his claws to "dig in" and scamper up? Let's just say my leg was the closest tree. I was not trying that again!!

After multiple failed attempts through coercion and force I decided to throw in the towel. Not only was I exhausted from lack of sleep but the little bugger wore me out. I dug out a plastic tarp and an old army blanket and spread them out on the floor. My plan was to lay down and let things settle down. As soon as he relaxed and began to doze off maybe, just maybe, he would be easier to get into the cage.

As I laid back and got comfortable I watched as he took his time exploring the inside of the maintenance building. Although he was just a little guy he was still a bear. As much as I trusted him, I still had to keep my eye on him, for his safety AND mine. His hum was mesmerizing and soothing.

Slowly and unknowingly, my world began to fade and eventually it all turned to black…


(To be continued...)

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I would be remiss if I didn't remind everyone this is NOT how black bear rehab occurs. Circumstances dictated that this bear was unreleasable therefore human contact was not going to put this cub in jeopardy. Human contact with a wild bear regardless of good intention ALWAYS puts a bear's life at-risk. If you love bears, NEVER feed or have any contact with them whatsoever.