Bear Freedom Project 2015

We are expanding our sanctuary to have the capacity to accept orphaned black bear cubs like this little guy for rehabilitation and release back into the wild.

As many successful programs throughout the country have shown, orphaned black bear cubs can successfully be rehabilitated and released with excellent chances of survival.

Unfortunately, there are a limited number of facilities qualified to do this correctly. With our perfect location in the Ocala National Forest and experienced staff, dedicated to doing what is best for the animals, we were planning to launch a rehabilitation program in the spring….but apparently this wasn’t meant to wait that long.

We were recently contacted by authorities with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife to assist with the rehabilitation of an orphaned Louisiana black bear cub.

This little guy was found severely underweight and obviously an orphan.

When the biologist went to catch him, he made a few steps toward a tree then just stopped, crouched and cried. He knew he wasn’t strong enough to escape.

The cub had been slowly starving, missing a claw and a toe on one foot, with an infected wound on his shoulder and fluid in his lungs. She saved his life.

Now it is our job to nurse him back to health, help him gain weight and ensure that he knows how to forage for food so he can be released back in Louisiana where he was found when spring arrives.

Of course, all of this must be done without the cub associating humans with food or becoming accustomed to humans and all of our related scents and sounds. His life depends on remaining a wild bear, shy of people, so he will grow to a healthy and productive adult in the Louisiana wilderness.

Will you help us to launch our program and keep it running so that we can not only save this little bear, but countless others that will surely follow?