Document text
Wildlife Images frees no-longer-baby bears MERLIN -- Winnie and Pooh have gone back to the 100-acre wood just in time for Christmas. The bears were released from the Wildlife Images Rehabilitation and Education Center near Merlin on Thursday to be returned to their home in the wilds of the coastal mountains. Brought in as tiny, motherless cubs nearly two years ago from the mountainous area southeast of Coos Bay, the bears were trucked to the remote release site by Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department biologists. "What can be a better Christmas present than freedom?" asked center director Dave A. Siddon, then added, "We expect the bears to do very well." Thursday's release marks the second time this year that the center has returned bears to the wild. State biologists released two other bears from the non-profit center two weeks ago. "They typically take them to the highest point in the area to release them," Siddon explained. "The theory is that they will forget about humans during the winter. It seems to be working. We've had no recidivism at all." The bears are at an age they would ordinarily be heading out on their own, he said. "Typically, after the cubs are born, they spend the first year and a half with their mom," he said. "They've reached a point where they no longer need mom's protection." Unless it's extremely cold, the bears won't hibernate, he said. The nearly 300-pound male and 200-pound female weighed only 3 and 2 pounds respectively when they arrived at the center. The cubs were bottle-fed at the center until they got old enough to eat solid food. "All of us here took turns bottle feeding them," he said. "It seems like they are made out of Velcro when they are hungry. They can be a real handful. "After we weaned them from the bottle we also weaned them from human contact," he added. "We want them to stay away from humans." Upon their release, the bears were expected to return to their natural ways, he said. "They've got a good healthy layer of fat on them," he said. "They should do well." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA