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| We hope you can donate towards
our efforts! No photos,videos,bear documentation, or any text! from Second Chance
Wildlife,Inc.and /or our website & photo zone :http://www.beartodream.org http://www.beartodream.org/photozone may be used in anyway outside of the Maine Department Of
Inland Fisheries & Wildlife Biologist; without my permission! Dawn Brown. *If others are gathering any text
from our website,and our YouTube videos without SCWI permission,they need to stop! |
| "Bur Cub" 8-15-10 in a beech tree at SCWI |
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| 8-16-10 Bur was released with a satellite collar,ear tagged,weight 44lbs. |
WLBZ TV: WCSH TV: BUR BEAR IN THE NEWS!
| Cub Ice being bottle fed (bear rehabilitation) |
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| Dawn Brown:o) Maine licensed wildlife rehabilitator since 1997 |
| Ice & Frosty |
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| Neonatal cubs |
| Dawn & Michael searching for moose sheds |
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| My husband & I enjoy spending as much time as we can in the woods |
SCWI Board of directors:
Dawn L Brown-New Sharon Maine: Bear rehabilitator, and observes bear behavior, Michael R Brown-New Sharon Maine: Helper WE OWN & LIVE AT: 90 Mountain Rd.New Sharon,Maine 04955
Other voting board of directors:
Randy Cross-Bangor,Maine: MDIFW State Bear crew leader biologist,Jennifer Vashon-Bangor,Maine: MDIFW State Bear & Lynx biologist-also helps with grant proposals,Benjamin Kilham-Lyme NH: Bear rehabilitator, and also observes bear behavior
| Moose calf doing well in rehabilitation |
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| Arrived 6-25-10 (she has very good behavior) |
| MOOSE CALF DOING WELL | |||||||||
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click here to play video MOOSE CALF STILL SHOWING GOOD BEHAVIOR ! 72 days in rehab.
5-15-10 video of yearling resting in the blackberry patch in smaller bear pen.
Warden Kevin Pelkey, drove 70 miles, made numerous phone calls, he had been informed that there was a bear cub in a field on the Montieth Rd, in Bridgewater. the bear had been in the field for the last four days. Warden Kevin Pelkey had received a call a week prior from another individual who had seen the cub in the field on occasion. He then requested at that time that they leave the bear alone and give it a chance to reunite with its mother (The warden made a good choice wanting to make sure that the mother sow definitely was not around-from time to time a mother bear can seperate from her cub/cubs. Warden Pelkey responded to the scene on 6-5-10 , he found a small bear cub, approximately/estimated 10lbs, with no sign of a mother around. The warden had contacted me ,and Biologist Jennifer Vashon . The Game Warden had captured,and rescued the little cub, and placed him in a dog kennel. The Warden then transported the cub to his residence where he fed him some evaporated milk/water/baby cereal, to hold him over the cub quickly ate everything. An old sheet was also placed in the kennel with the cub because the cub was extremely wet and shivering. The warden made plans to transfer the cub to Biologist Vashon that afternoon,who at the time was going to be in that area near Presque Isle. I corresponded with Biologist Jen Vashon who had cared for the little cub until the following morning,until we could pick him up on 6-6-10
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| 6-6-10 (7lb 4oz male cub) |
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| Dawn with the new arrival "BUR" the bear cub. |
| Some supplement feeding can be necessary |
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| Puppy chow,esbilac,fast balance-G.I.,bene-bac,and it is also foraging too! |
If you come across an orphaned or injured bear please contact your local Maine Game Warden,and or biologist..They will asses the situation to see If the bear and/or cub is in need of care,and will hopefully contact Second Chance Wildlife, Inc. Bear rehabilitation,research & release.
Gray |
Augusta 1-800-452-4664 |
Orono 1-800-432-7381 |
Houlton 1-800-924-2261 |
Dover-Foxcroft 1-800-432-7372 |
| 6-6-10 "BUR" the bear arrived |
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| Second Chance Wildlife, Inc. |
| 6-6-10 7lb 4 oz male cub approximately 5 months |
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| 6-22-10 cub BUR is forging on wild strawberries. |
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| He is doing great, and will soon be going into the 3 acre pen. |
| 23 lb yearling arrived 5-11-10 in need of care |
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| Smaller bear pen |
"Coplin the bear" in the News paper
| "Coplin" way up in the tree! 3 acre pen 5-18-10 |
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| He is doing well=using his skills in the large enclosure,he forages & is still getting supplements. |
| Coplin was ear tagged & tattooed |
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| released 6-17-10 |
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| The little male yearling bear named "Coplin" went into the 3 acre pen on 5-17-10 |
The 23 lb yearling was very lethargic for the first couple days. I have been feeding out supplements to help
the little one along.I guess it was quite an event for this little bear.He was located up in Rangeley/coplin plantation-John
Cochese had called Game warden Reggie Hammond ,and had told him the bear was hanging around for a few days on
his porch,and in his barn,and that it seemed hungry.There was quite a bit of food that this bear was getting into.The little
bear had been caught eventually with a catch pole;that being a bit of a process in itself,we were told.The
little bear had been in the carrier for a while,and then on the road traveling too..by the time we had gone to pick him
up in Farmington,the little bear seemed very tired,and under stress.The supplements I have been administering have turned
him around completely within a few days. I have been monitoring behavior, and health frequently, making sure
everything is okay ;to the best of my ability=whenever we are not at work.I think the peacefulness,and the quiet where we
are located has helped the little yearling relax, and heal too.Now that the Little bear "Coplin" seems to be feeling
so much better, we had moved him into the 3 acre pen on 5-17-10 ; so he can just be a bear! This
little bear will be released once showing a bit of growth, while also gaining more strength;the 3 acre pen
will help greatly with this process!
About Us-Dawn & Michael ,The Bears,conservation...And Thanks To Others For Their Inspiration.
Take Note: Second Chance Wildlife, Inc. Has no members, and is a non government run organization,and is not controlled by the government,or the union.There is a total of (5) voting board of directors/ (5) individually minded.When release time is near-the bears are evaluated by the dept.,and SCWI primary care-taker (there is a complete discussion on what is in the best interest for each individual bear.) The bears will then be ear tagged,and collard in most cases.When the bears are collard their movements will be monitored,and it will also be documented if any bear shows up in the harvest report.The data that the biologist gather from rehabilitated bearshey will be transferred/share with SCWI primary care-taker.We will then know how the bears are adjusting to the wild. the MDIFW biologist may also monitor other animals that are released from SCWI. The biologist will keep the primary caretaker informed on how the animal is adjusting to the wild
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Biologist James Hall said the Bear cub was around a residence for about two weeks, no sign of the mother.He said the Cub was feeding in a commercial compost pile and was curled up on the individuals porch and stayed around the house for the entire period.He said the owner called an ADC agent and was concerned about the cub and wanted to know if he caught it would someone take care of it.He also added that the Cub was very tame, could walk right up to it. Not aggressive at all, owner borrowed a catch pole, and enticed the cub with food & the cub came right over .No reported car/bear accidents or known shootings. There are active blueberry fields nearby with bee hives, female could have been shot? The bear was picked up on the Dixie Road in South Lubec. Agent who picked up the cub was Dayrl McCurdy. -I would like to say thanks to Biologist Tom Schaffer who had first called about the little cub,James Hall,Daryl McCurdy, and all the other folks involved with wanting to help this little bear cub.
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A Note To The General
Public:Bears will end up in your yard, near your home, or if you are camping; bears could possibly show up
at your campsite:DO NOT FEED THE BEARS! Bear rehabilitation carries out a process of some
supplemental feeding that may be necessary to help bear cubs,and/or yearlings that may be malnourished,and also when
cubs may become orphaned,and may need just a bit of a boost in the beginning to help grow and develop
properly. Here at Second Chance Wildlife a large % of a bears diet consist of what they would consume in the WILD! Keeping
bears wild,and preventing conflicts between bears and people is crucial.If the general public ever comes across
a wild animal that they feel may be in need of help/immediate care;do not go near it ! Call a Wildlife biologist
and/or Game warden, Animal control officer, or a liscenced Wildlife Rehabilitator who specializes in bears
to help assess the situation, and make sure the animal is in need of care to begin with."If You Care Leave
Them There" This little cub was in
need of rehabilitation for it is believed to have been orphaned,little cub is doing very well! He goes into the hollow
log, and hides when I go to feed him some suppliments that are needed at this time.This cub is also
forging in the smaller of the two pens, and has dug at the logs diligently,it also has made a couple day beds,and
has runways through the blackberry bushes, this cub seems to have good cub behavior-the pen is thick with blackberry
bushes,dandelion greens,grasses, small trees/logs... giving the little cub great cover.The cub just needs to do a bit
of growing (Supplemental feeding consist of e.g. esbilac milk formula,puppy chow in a dish, while also foraging on greens,larvae....)
bear cubs in the wild are weaned at approximately 5 months age from the mother sow.In rehabilitation I work on weaning cubs much
earlier from the bottle.This little cub seems pretty content and docile while in the natural environment that is helping to teach it
skills.It would be a bit better if there was another cub for cub "lubec" to be with while in rehabilitation,but
I am happy to say little growing Lubec seems to have good cub skills for being a single cub. I hope to be able to
have the cub go into the 3 acre bear pen soon;then it will have the opportunity to climb tall trees,swim,forag on a variety
of natural feed;letting me have an oppertunity to monitor the cubs potential skills,and behavior prior to release.On
rainy days Cub Lubec has been in his log for the most part -the rainy weather has put a damper on him exploring...rain ,rain
go away and come back another day!!! I have noticed that the cub has been dragging grasses into the log;making it a bit
more comfortable,while adding more camouflage at the entrance of the hollow log.(good behavior).When the rain subsides
you can see where the cub's activity is visible throughout the pen.(little cub territory)
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| (3-19-08) 2 year old ice in her winter den |
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| biologist had monitored her with a GPS collar |
| Rain & fog=cubs & yearling bears going up in trees |
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| Cub Lubec while in 3 acre pen (he is living in the wild now) |
| Lubec in 3 acre pen photo 10-11-09 |
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| Released into the wild on 10-16-09 |
This is Icicle "Ice" Just before hibernation in 2006 while in captivity.She has been in the wild for over a year now. I feel truly blessed! (Ice has given hope for neonatal cubs returning back to the wild after the rehabilitation process.)
Bears that have
been cared for at Second Chance Wildlife , Inc. Will eventually be released back to the wild,and then monitored
with the help of the MDIFW bear study (Much Thanks!)Working together only enhances knowledge . Bears make a living packing on calories for survival! A bears diet consist of : vegetation, nuts -i.e., acorns, hazel,Beech.. a variety of berries,
also larvae, ants, beehives.. amphibians, small/large mammals -carrion/rotted meat. Mature bears have been known to kill fawns
and even moose calves; Bears are opportunist!
They were thought to be frozen!
A glimmer of hope when they were
thawed out and showed signs of life!
It left many in awe!
Guidance and Strength
"Frosty" "Icicle"
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- Cubs like Lubec that had been with the mother sow for a period of time i.e.,4+ months;he had held onto very wild traits/instincts, making an earlier release very promising for him (late summer? ,but fall/autumn release worked well)
- Very young neonatal cubs in rehab.I believe should either go in with a surrogate sow if the option is available, or be released into a pre-made winter den/or den box the following year,or possibly be released at 16 months=bears just wanting to be in the wild at this stage of development,this is when they disperse from the mother sow in the wild.The reasoning for a later release ? is because I have come to the conclusion that if a denned sow cannot be found for neonates,then the next best option is for neonatal cubs to stay in rehabilitation longer, so that they can actually mature,and gain better skills prior to release,otherwise they are probably going to get into trouble.There maturity simply is not as good, i.e., such as a cub like lubec, because he had spent some time with his mother, making him to have gained complete human avoidance/more wild.
- Positive outlook for neonatal cubs:As neonatal cubs mature in a natural environment, such as our bear facilities,they can eventually mature similar to bears in the wild ,while gaining good skills, and eventually can be released back to the wild successfully i.e.,yearling "Ice" being released into a winter den the following year has proved to be very effective,and had created a successful release; by her spending time out in the wild prior to waking, seems to have been a + too!
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