Story Created:
Feb 21, 2012 at 12:00 AM MDT
Story Updated:
Feb 21, 2012 at 11:45 PM MDT
Silt/Silverthorne - For 30 years, Nanci Limbach, the founder of the Western Colorado Wildlife Rehabilitation Center, has been releasing rehabilitated animals in the wild. Though for four precocious cubs, Monday's release is a second chance.
"It is bittersweet, because we wouldn't have these orphan cubs without something happening," explained Gail Marshall, the coordinator for Summit County Bear Aware. That "something" was because the sow, or mother bear, was too close to human contact.
"She [the sow] ended up getting killed by a vehicle. This cub is the only remaining one from the litter," commented Shannon Schwab, Colorado Parks and Wildlife district wildlife manager. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials say the main reason for these fatal interactions is because of human negligence.
"If people put the attractants away, they would have a lot less bears come into the town," explained Schwab. When the sow bear comes into contact with humans, she is oftentimes killed, leaving the cubs on their own. That's when Limbach steps in.
At the Western Colorado Rehabilitation Center, the cubs gain strength by volunteers tending them weekly. When they are strong enough, they are tranquilized and moved to a remote den to start again.
"It's a success story for us already," commented Schwab.
And for some, like Nanci, it's hope that maybe things will change the better--a second time around.
If you would like to find out how to prevent bears from coming near your home, go to Colorado Parks and Wildlife's website
here.
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Anonymous said on Wednesday, Feb 29 at 8:00 PM
The anonymous comment from Saturday is correct, and I would like to thank whoever wrote it for setting the record straight. To clear something up, I would like to add that these bears are in hibernation and are released into hibernation. They are not released at this time of year to try to fend for themselves. They continue in a hibernative state until late spring when all bears come out.
Anonymous said on Saturday, Feb 25 at 4:39 PM
I'm sure the bears did make the night... that is why they are called wild life. The place Nanci Limbach runs is a non profit, so any "cash that was invested" into these little guys was donated, money she raised or food donated from various stores. If it weren't for the hard work of Nanci, the volunteers and the Division of Wild Life then these cubs would have died. Studies have been done on the animals being released and she has always had great success rates.
Anonymous said on Friday, Feb 24 at 6:35 AM
WIld Lice=Wild Life
Anonymous said on Friday, Feb 24 at 6:34 AM
Hope they'll survive... Want to believe the Wild Lice Control knows how to deal with..
Anonymous said on Tuesday, Feb 21 at 9:29 AM
These cubs probably didn't last the night. I wonder how much cash was invested to bait the forest with these little guys?
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