Posted on 12/17/2003 6:28:52 AM PST by NewHampshireDuo
UPTON — An Upton woman rescued an orphaned baby bear after she saw the cub weak and alone in the western Maine woods following a fierce snowstorm that dumped more than 2 feet of snow on the area.
Cyndy Scribner said she spotted the animal Dec. 7 and ended up taking it home three days later after it climbed down from a tree, squealing in pain with porcupine quills stuck in its face and leg.
After bringing the bear home, Scribner fed it maple syrup, milk and a bucket of dog food. It spent the night in her pickup truck snuggled in a blanket.
Scribner contacted Rick Mills of the Maine Warden Service, who retrieved the cub on Thursday and took it to a wildlife biologist in New Sharon.
"With the snow we've got now - 20 inches - he would never have made it," Scribner said. "He was down for the count. He was starving and there was no way he could eat on his own, so I'm kind of glad I brought him home and gave him to a warden."
Dawn Brown of New Sharon, who rehabilitates wildlife, said she expects to take possession of the cub soon and care for it until it can be released into the wild. Mills could not be reached Monday for comment.
Scribner said she first saw the bear while driving on East B Hill Road shortly after a northeaster dumped 40 inches of snow on Upton, about 20 miles northwest of Rumford.
"He was in the road when I saw him. I kept an eye on him and he was just too small to climb over the snowbanks," she said. "He's just a baby. He should weigh between 35 to 40 pounds, but the warden said he only weighed about 12 to 15 pounds," Scribner said.
Scribner said the bear appeared emaciated when she first saw it, so she fed it tea and milk, boxes of Cheerios and Wheaties, peanut butter sandwiches and canned milk. She said the bear then began acting unafraid around her.
Over the next few days, Scribner faithfully made three to four trips a day to look after the animal. On Wednesday, the cub climbed down from the tree and into her truck.
It was crying like a baby with the porcupine quills stuck in it, and Scribner decided to take it home.
"I know people are going to be upset that I fed him, but he's alive and that's all I cared about," she said.
Great story.
Warm and fuzzy feelings aside, making pets out of cute little wild animals is a bad idea. They grow up to become big, wild animals and look upon their human handlers as a tasty snack.
"She said the bear then began acting unafraid around her." This is not always a good thing...
Now fast forward to perhaps 5 years in the future...dateline 12/17/2008... Possible headlines in local paper
"A large brown bear mauled and killed three children who were playing in their own back yard. Officials said a woman who tried to save the children was also mauled, but only lost half of her face when the bear struck her.
"He looked so cute, until he began to attack, kill and eat the kids", A local PETA member said. "I am sure he didn't mean it, he was just trying to survive. It was just like he had no fear of man."
"I did notice some scars on the side of the bear's face, almost like he had a run-in at one time with a pocupine or something. The poor thing! He was probably traumatized!"
God forbid it should ever happen, but what are we doing here? Nature is ultimate and absolute. Bears kill and eat, the strong survives, etc. I get mad reading these articles about how important and "cute" these predators are, especially the ones around the cities. IMHO, these animals should be destroyed or repopulated into other non-populated areas. Period. Animals are either prey or predators, so I hope we don't get upset if the above scenario takes place...
Not meaning to flame ANYONE, just the way some of these animal worshippers think gets me everytime......
Yes, a nice story, but.... I see trouble in the future of this bear if it's ever released back into the wild. These creatures are suppose to have a natural fear of humans. This little bear will one day be a rather large bear that will have no fear of humans - a recipe for trouble.
Did the woman do the right thing - that's a matter for someone else to determine. She would likely be quite disturbed to find out how often "Mother Nature" deals rather harshly with wild critters. This little bear got lucky, a woman with a big heart made the decision to "save" it.
Hey, I can fit that much on my rotisserrie!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.