British Columbia

Hibernating black bear family reunited after scared by dog

A family of black bears from Prince George, B.C., have been reunited and will be spending the rest of their hibernation at a wildlife shelter in Smithers, B.C.

Mother bear treed in Prince George, rescued by conservation officers, relocated to Smithers, B.C.

A mother bears and her cubs in their hibernation den (Northern Lights Wildlife Society/Facebook )

A family of black bears from Prince George, B.C., has been reunited and will be spending the rest of their hibernation at a wildlife shelter in Smithers, B.C.

The relocation comes after a dog stumbled upon their den and scared the mother bear up a tree.

"They had a really hard time dealing with this bear. She was up in a tree and their metabolisms are very, very slow this time of year," said Tanya Landry, a volunteer with the Northern Lights Wildlife Society. 

"So tranquilizing her proved to be very difficult. And then when she finally did fall asleep from the tranquilizer, she actually got stuck in the tree she was in."

Conservation officers had to cut down the tree with the bear in it. 

Once the mother bear was rescued, conservation officers climbed into the bears' den to pull out her cubs.

The family was loaded into a truck and made the over four-hour drive to Smithers

Landry says they're now living in a specially designed bear den that was donated to the shelter last year.