ABBOTSFORD, B.C. -- Conservation officers and wildlife rehabilitators haven’t had any luck tracking down a tiny bear cub spotted alone in Abbotsford almost a week ago.
The young cub, which is believed to weigh about five to 10 pounds, was last seen wandering near a housing complex off Whatcom Road in Abbotsford on the afternoon of May 15.
Kya Wolfs was one of the people who saw the bear.
“My mom said, ‘Oh look, that looks like a little cat or little puppy,’ but it was just like a little bear,” she said. “Just walking around crying. It was sad.”
Wolfs said there was no sign of the mother bear anywhere, and conservation officers were called, along with the Langley-based Critter Care Wildlife Society.
Wolfs said the cub disappeared into some brush before either group arrived.
“It kind of just went under the fence and down into some prickly bushes,” she said. “We didn’t really see it after that.”
Conservation officer Eric Tyukodi said officers first got a report of a lone cub on May 9. The animal was spotted in a green space by hikers on McKee Mountain.
“They said they watched the bear cub for about 20 minutes, and they didn’t see any sign of a sow around,” he said. “They said it was small, probably maybe 10 pounds, and it was just kind of at the base of the tree, kind of running around a bit.”
Tyukodi said officers decided to see if the mother returned, taking into account the cub’s location. There were no further reports until calls came to the conservation service and Critter Care on Saturday about the small bear wandering near Whatcom Road.
“We looked at where it had been seen; very unlikely it’s a different cub,” he said.
Tyukodi said he had been making his way back from Delta at the time and started heading to the area right away.
“We looked, we tried calling with a distressed bear cub call just on my phone,” he said. “We tried throwing some apples down. No sightings. He didn’t come back, no sign.”
Tyukodi said when baby bears are that size, they still primarily are fed by their mother’s milk.
“That’s 95 percent of their diet,” he said. “At that point, they’re pretty much entirely dependent on the sow.”
Tyukodi said it’s possible the bear’s mother was somewhere nearby, which is why people are always advised not to approach or pick up cubs. But sometimes, the mother and cub cannot be reunited.
“There’s a lot of instances of sows that get hit by cars, unfortunately, just from traversing the roadways,” he said. “We’ll do what we can to try and trap the little guy or girl and bring them to rehab.”
Despite searches and traps being set, there’s been no sign of the little cub. Conservation officers are asking people to call them at 1-877-952-7277 if there is another sighting.
