What happened to the bear cub pulled out of Okanagan Lake
A family boating near Vernon pulled an exhausted bear cub out of Okanagan Lake on 12 September and put it back near the shore. Officials, the family and a rescue society disagree about its chances.
If you find a bear cub on its own, phone the wildlife authority before you touch it or move it. That is the practical lesson from a rescue on Okanagan Lake in September, and the reason its outcome is still being argued over.
On Saturday 12 September, a family boating near Vernon took a bear cub out of the middle of the lake. It was swimming a long way from shore and in difficulty. They released it close to the shoreline, and it went into the trees. What happened to it after that is not clear.
Video: Global News
The rescue, briefly
The boater was Christina Zamniuk, who has a lake house at Vernon. The family was headed for Adventure Bay when they saw the animal. Reports differ on small details, such as how the cub got aboard and what it was given to eat while it warmed up, so I've left those out. The accounts agree on the main points: the cub was exhausted, the family got it onto the boat, they contacted the authorities, and it was put back near shore. Castanet reported that her husband pushed it off close to land and that it swam the rest of the way.
What the officials said
Zamniuk told Global News that conservation officers dealt with the family by phone and did not attend. She told Castanet they asked which direction the cub had been swimming. Castanet said it had no comment from the B.C. Conservation Officer Service (COS) at the time of publication.
Asked by Global why officers did not collect the cub, the ministry said it was not a public safety issue. Zamniuk told Global she felt conflicted about letting it go.
The COS told CBC and the Vernon Morning Star by email that it had received no further reports of a suspected orphaned cub in the area. WildSafeBC told CBC it considered the result a good one for the cub and the boaters.
What the rescue society said
The Northern Lights Wildlife Society, a bear rehabilitation group in Smithers, took a bleaker view. Global News reported an estimated weight of about 30 pounds for the cub. Angelika Langen of the society told Global that a cub should normally have at least 50 pounds to get through hibernation, and put this one's odds at "very slim".
As of Global's report on 21 September, the society had a team searching near Parker Cove, off Westside Road, with the aim of catching the cub and keeping it over the winter. Zamniuk told Castanet she wished she had known about the society before the rescue.
Where it stands
The most recent coverage I could find is Global's follow-up, dated 21 September and updated 23 September. I haven't found a report of the cub being located. If you have news of it, get in touch.
If you find a cub on its own
Keep your distance and phone the people responsible for wildlife in that area. In B.C., that is the Conservation Officer Service. In Alberta, it is Fish and Wildlife. In the national parks, it is Parks Canada. A cub that looks abandoned may have its mother close by, and she will not be pleased to find you near it. If you're in the Bow Valley, save the number for the park or district you're in before you need it.
Sources: Global News (Amy Judd; Klaudia Van Emmerik and Amy Judd), CBC News, Castanet, Vernon Morning Star. Video: Global News.
