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Black Bear Cub Rescued After 5 Days Starving: PHOTO

Despite some serious side-eye, New York Environmental Conservation Officer Robert Howe was able to rescue this adorable black bear cub.

Officer Howe responded to complaints of a cub “lingering around a home” in the NY town of Salisbury on January 31. As local News 10 reports, the homeowner observed the little one for five days. Eventually, they thought the cub’s mother would return for him. But no sow ever came.

Towards the end of those five days, the black bear cub began to look malnourished, and the homeowner couldn’t wait any longer. Which is where Officer Howe comes in.

Howe safely captured the cub. The pair snapped a selfie together (below) before transfer to Friends of the Feathered and Furry Wildlife Center in Hunter, NY. The center will care for and treat the cub until he’s ready to return to his wild home. This will be no quick process, however.

As bear cub season (mid-January into early February) rolls on, cubs are being born across North America. For the rest of the winter denning period, a cub’s mother will feed, clean, and rear her offspring as they grow from a tiny 0.5 pound bean into a 5-pound toddler.

This little guy looks to have been an early birth, as he’s already at least 15 pounds by the looks of him. He and his mother had already emerged from their den, which typically happens in February. During this time, black bear cubs grow rapidly.

Black bears (Ursus americanus) grow quickly in general, but their biggest spurt comes in this first year of life, which sees a cub grow from 5 to a good 80 pounds by their 1st birthday. And a cub’s mother is supposed to be present during this entire period.

Black Bear Cubs Need Their Mothers to Survive

When a cub is orphaned like this little guy, they stand no chance of survival without rescue. They’re to remain with their mother for at least a year to a year-and-a-half in order to be fed, then later learn how to feed themselves.

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American black bear sow and her cub (Ursus americanus). (Photo by Visual Communications via Getty Images)

Then, mom will be ready to mate again as her cubs become yearlings and venture out on their own. By this time, a healthy female yearling will already weigh around 100 pounds. Males grow even more rapidly, weighing anywhere from 150 to 400 pounds. Later in life, male (boar) black bears can weigh anywhere from 500 to an astounding 800+ pounds.

Rescue efforts, like our Appalachian Bear Rescue here in Tennessee, take in cubs each year that lose their mothers. These defenseless cubs are reared in wild settings, then returned to the wild. There, they’re given a second chance to reach such incredible size.

For more on the American black bear’s life cycle, see our National Parks Journal: Great Smoky Mountains Black Bears are Emerging from Hibernation next.