Bear Cub Sleepless In Alaska

(AP)  By all accounts, the little black bear spotted near Juneau should be snug in its den, curled up beside its mother and sleeping away the harsh Alaska winter.

Instead, the orphaned cub on Douglas Island is wide awake and scrounging for anything to eat — dog food, bird seed, dead crows.

"He is just a little black fuzzball," said Brenda Greenbank, who's seen the cub and estimates him to be 25 pounds — the size of a small dog. "I just can't see him surviving without a mother to protect him."

Now humans have stepped in where Mother Nature has failed. A live trap was set Thursday at the beachfront home owned by Greenbank and Gary Rosenberger to try and catch the "fuzzball."

The plan is to move the cub to a remote location off the island where it will be introduced to a denning box made of wood and filled with a straw bed.

Grant Hilderbrandt, a regional supervisor for the Division of Wildlife Conservation, said if the cub isn't captured, his chances of surviving are poor.

"It's a hard life out there," he said.

The trap was set at Greenbank's home because the bear scored a few meals there. Rosenberger saw the cub for the first time a couple of days before Christmas after returning with deer from a hunting trip.

"He went out to the garage and thought he saw a dog carrying away a front quarter. He followed it a bit and realized it was a tiny bear," Greenbank said.

The next time Rosenberger had a close encounter with the bear was when he was putting meat scraps for gulls and eagles in a tin atop the wood pile.

"The wood pile is just outside the front door. When he reached out to put another handful in there, he just about touched that guy because he had his face buried in that pan," Greenbank said. "The little guy had crawled up on the wood pile and helped himself."

Black bears in southeast Alaska normally go into hibernation in late October or early November, with pregnant sows typically going in first. No one really knows for sure what triggers the need to hibernate but it probably has to do with the weather getting colder and food scarcer, Hilderbrandt said.

The orphan probably wasn't in good shape going into the winter because it was without its mother, Hilderbrandt said. That could be one reason why it isn't hibernating.

To lure the cub into the trap, apples and cinnamon are being used, said Neil Barten, area wildlife management biologist on Douglas Island.

"Basically, it smells like Thanksgiving," Barten said.

[michellem99-2009]

He is so cute. I hope they can find him and care for this baby cub. Are places that would take him as he is too young to be alone in the wild? That would be the humane thing to do as he has no Mum to teach him the lessons young cubs learn.

[hermit22]

ak_jo, thank you for adding so much good information. Do you live in Alaska?

When we were kids, Mr. Osborne brought little bear cubs into our yard. I didn't realize at the time it was a once in a lifetime event!

[olebd]

There are plenty of zoos that could care for him.

[samthetvcat]

omgosh he's soooo cute. I saw a show once about how momma bears teach bear skills to their babies - like hunting and stuff because they can be kind of clumsy. You would think it would be instinctual, but it looks like this little guy doesn't know how to do that either if he's dumpster diving. Yes, please please give us updates!

[newday7-2009]

Yes, CBS News, please post updates on what happens to the little bear! Thank you!!

[sra57]

Bless his little fuzzball heart! I hope they can catch him and care for him. He's too cute!

[labettis]

Even though I don't like to see wild animals in captivity, that would probably be the best thing for this little guy. As young as he is without a mother to teach him how to catch food or defend himself he will not survive very long in the wild. At his age now he would adapt to captivity better than an older animal would and have a longer and much better life.

[ak_jo]

Hibernation continued...again

Less than 1 percent of black bears die in dens. Their main threats are flooding and predators (wolves, dogs, active bears, and humans). Bears do not usually die of starvation in dens. Most deaths from starvation are before or after hibernation and involve primarily cubs and yearlings. Disease is uncommon. Most parasites of bears are adapted to their host's hibernation cycle and reduce their demands in winter. Medical researchers are studying black bear hibernation to learn how bears cope with conditions that are problems for people. The findings are aiding studies of human kidney disease, gallstones, obesity, anorexia nervosa, and other problems. Researchers hope that knowledge of bear hibernation may someday even aid space travel.

[ak_jo]

Hibernation continued...

To survive long winters without eating, drinking, exercising, or passing wastes, hibernating bears cut their metabolic rates in half. Sleeping heart rate drops from a summer rate of between 60 and 90 beats per minute to a hibernating rate between 8 and 40 beats per minute. Rectal temperature drops only slightly, though, from 99-102 degrees F in the summer to 88-98 degrees F during hibernation. Bears can maintain this high body temperature despite their slower metabolism in winter because they develop highly insulative fur and reduce blood supplies to their limbs. Only the head and torso are maintained at the high temperatures. Maintaining the brain at a high temperature enables bears to maintain brain function for tending newborn cubs and responding to danger.

[ak_jo]

Hibernation

For the black bear, hibernation is more an adaptation for escaping winter food scarcity than an adaptation for escaping winter cold. Most dens are nearly as cold as the surrounding countryside. Dens may be burrows, caves, hollow trees, or simply nests on the ground. Bears gather leaves, grass, and twigs to make insulative beds on which to curl up, leaving only their well-furred backs and sides exposed to the cold. They sleep alone except for mothers with cubs. Most bears use a different den each year.

Hibernation lasts up to 7 months in the northern regions but is shorter in the South. Bears that find food year-round in the South may not hibernate at all, but black bears in the North hibernate so deeply that they may be jostled and prodded for several minutes in mid-winter before they awaken. Undisturbed black bears remain nearly inactive during hibernation, unlike smaller hibernators that raise their body temperatures to summer levels every few days so they can eat stored food and pass wastes.