BEAR FEVER

Wildlife Center Takes in Three Bear Cubs After Mother Dies in Research Accident

The mother was getting her radio collar replaced when her cub suffocated her.

A wildlife rehab center in Wisconsin is taking care of three bear cubs after their mother was killed in a research accident, WPR reported. Wild Instincts, a facility in Rhinelander, took in the cubs after their mother was suffocated by one of the cubs in their den last month after researchers tried to replace her radio collar. The cubs are expected to remain in the clinic’s care for eight months, and Mark Naniot, the director at Wild Instincts, said they’ve already grown in size. The cost to care for each cub—already an unusual job for the clinic—is between $3,000 and $4,000, forcing the understaffed facility to put in long hours to care for them and the other animals at Wild Instincts. “You never know what you’re going to do from one day to the next,” he told WPR. “We’re cleaning toilets one minute and feeding bears the next minute. So, it’s a situation where we have to basically do it all.”