B.C. wildlife rescue overwhelmed by staggering number of bear cubs

Northern Lights Wildlife Society in Smithers, B.C., says its shelters are overwhelmed with bear cubs from recent rescues.

Angelika Langen, manager and co-founder of the organization, says this has been the society's busiest fall, with a two-fold increase in the number of cubs in their care.

"Last year we had altogether 45, currently we have 92," she said in an interview with CBC. "We anticipated the fall to be busy but this has been a storm that we definitely did not expect."

Northern Lights is one of only three shelters in the province permitted to raise orphaned bear cubs, and the only one allowed to rehabilitate and release grizzly bear cubs.

It rescues abandoned cubs from across the province, rehabilitates them in a shelter, and releases them in their native ranges, a year or so after their arrival — when they would have naturally left their parents.

Just two months ago, the society had about 16 cubs in their care. 

The recent uptick in numbers has been driven by this year's drought and record-breaking wildfires, says Langen.

The Conservation Office Service (CSO) in the northern region of the province says it's received almost 4,000 calls for service this year alone, mostly driven by bear encounters.

Conservation officer Eamon McArthur told CBC News that for the Omineca region, which includes Prince George, the CSO received "a torrential" 3,957 calls for service from August through September.

Northern Lights's Langen says a lot of bears have died this year, leaving many cubs out on their own. This has forced the society to operate at full capacity.

"We are going through 3,200 pounds of apples a week, plus donated fruits and vegetables from the store and some pelleted food," she said.

The wildlife society manager says she anticipates more cubs in the days ahead and will be deploying volunteers to find, capture and bring abandoned cubs "that are looking for assistance."

One of those orphaned cubs is in Fort St. James, west of Prince George.

Mike Ellison, a resident in Fort St. James, says the orphan cub has been spotted in downtown and is starting to look skinny.

Northern Lights has gone to the community multiple times on rescue missions but hasn't yet been able to capture the cub.

"It has been eluding us for weeks," said Langen.

The society is urging residents to keep an eye out for the brown cub in the area.

For the rescues to be successful, Northern Lights must first determine a spot where the cubs show up regularly so they can set a trap. 

"I would like to request residents if they see the cub regularly in a particular place, do let us know," she said.