Bear Cubs FAQs

Because the cubs are so young, they’ll likely be with us for 7-12 months before they are mature enough to be safely released. Their health and behavior will be continuously monitored to ensure they’re developing the survival instincts required for life in the wild.

The cubs’ mother was determined to be a public safety concern by local law enforcement in Monrovia, CA after DNA testing confirmed her involvement in two separate incidents resulting in injuries to humans. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife made the difficult decision to humanely euthanize her to protect public safety.  

Project Wildlife is one of three currently operating licensed bear rehabilitators in the state of California. When the bears were orphaned, they were transported to us by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to be raised with the goal of one day returning to the wild.

To help the bears keep their natural instincts, it’s very important that they do not become habituated to humans. With specially built habitats and the use of cameras for monitoring, we do everything we can to offer care from a distance and limit the number of interactions they have with us.

However, during these early months while the bears are small, they require more support to ensure they’re eating and gaining weight adequately. During these necessary interactions, staff use bear masks, animal furs and scents to conceal their human identity as much as possible.

The rehabilitation of orphaned cubs like these is not only important for the individual animals involved, but also for helping interrupt a dangerous generational cycle of habituation and conflict. Mother bears teach their cubs how to survive by modeling behavior. When bears learn to seek out food or shelter around people, cubs can also learn to associate homes and neighborhoods with resources, increasing the likelihood of future human-wildlife conflict. By minimizing human exposure during their development, we can prevent the cubs from becoming habituated to the presence of humans.

As our communities continue to expand into the native habitats of wildlife, it’s critical to understand how we can safely coexist. Bears are highly adaptable and will seek out food and shelter when opportunities are present. Securing crawl spaces, removing food attractants such as unsecured trash or pet food, and eliminating access to sheltered areas around homes are critical steps residents must take to reduce the likelihood of conflict behaviors and habituation to people.