Aldo, the 'rescued' bear, finds a new home. Photo courtesy of Carli Davidson/Oregon Zoo

A family found this American black bear cub in Oregon and believing him to be lost or orphaned, took him home in April. Realizing they were ill-equipped to care for the animal, they soon called the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, who stepped in and found him lodging at the Oregon Zoo.

The two-and-a-half month old cub, was lucky to receive such an immediate response and the round the clock care he needed. However, getting this type of attention means he bonded with humans and would not be able to return to life in the wild. Further complicating the cub’s chances for a permanent home was the fact that the Oregon zoo already had four American black bears and their enclosure could not support another.

The Northeastern Wisconsin (NEW) Zoo stepped up to bat and offered to take the cub in the hopes that he would grow into a good companion for their lone black bear, Winnie. When the cub arrived at the NEW Zoo, he was dubbed Aldo. Curator Carmen Murach adopted Aldo & brought him home with her so he could have a parental figure until he adjusted to his new surroundings. Recently Aldo has been able to spend his nights at the Zoo so long as Murach visits frequently.

It will be some time until Aldo and Winnie can spend time together. He could be seriously harmed by even the slightest swipe from her paw if he got in her way. Since he has no mom to protect him – and Murach is only willing to carry the parental role so far – he will have to be introduced to Winnie slowly, over time.

Murach believes that in all likelihood, the family who “rescued” him, thought well-intentioned, probably took him from his mother. Adults often spend a great deal of time away from their young so as not to draw attention to the babies. She warns that unless an infant is found next to a dead parent, it is probably not alone and should be left where it is. Humans should not mistake a cub’s willingness to be handled by humans as an attempt to get help. Cubs haven’t learned yet to be wary and his mother could be just over the horizon.

Judge Extends Polar Bear Protection Plan

This week the survival status of polar bears was brought to federal courts in order to decide what type of protections should be granted to the species. Previously polar bears were considered threatened which meant that some significant protections were being provided and the federal judge overseeing the hearing decided this week that the protection should continue and as a result extended the threatened status.

According to the judge the primary reason for polar bears being listed as threatened is the quickly disappearing ecosystems which the polar bears live in. Because of the speed at which the ice is melting in many areas polar bears are struggling to adapt or survive and are being granted some special protections by the government in order to help them survive in some way.

The exact details of what protections are offered are somewhat difficult to understand though the basis is that environmental damage is restricted in areas with polar bear populations. Some polar bear activists hoped that they would be upgraded to endangered in order to create even stricter environmental rules in the area but for now they are happy to see that the threatened status has been retained. The current policy for polar bear protection does explicitly state that certain power plants and other planned improvements cannot be stopped but otherwise environmental activists are hopeful that the polar bear’s current state of protection will eventually help to prevent further damage to various areas in which they often reside.