Black bear cub rescued from Elm Creek Park arrives at rehabilitation center
Black bear cub rescued at Elm Creek Park Reserve. (Credit Three Rivers Park District Natural Resources Management department) (Supplied)
CROW WING COUNTY, Minn. (FOX 9) - The black bear cub rescued from Elm Creek Park on Wednesday has safely arrived at the rehabilitation center in Crow Wing County.
Wild and Free rehabilitation center said the female cub arrived at their facility and is the first bear cub they’ve taken in this year.
The black bear cub was rescued from Elm Creek Park in Maple Grove after being left alone for more than three days. Park officials said the mother bear hadn’t returned to collect the cub, so they intervened for the bear cub’s safety.
Staff at the rehabilitation center weighed the bear, tagged her ear and took blood samples for future research. The cub will remain in their care until next spring when she will hopefully be released back into the wild.
Wild and Free currently has 5 black bears, 1 snapping turtle, 1 cedar waxwing, 6 brown bats, and 1 little brown back in their care, according to their website.
There have been multiple bear sightings reported across Minnesota in recent weeks, including at Elm Creek Park. Three black bear cubs were previously spotted in April with their mother. Three Rivers Park District told FOX 9 they don’t know for sure if the rescued cub is from the same bear family.
Other sightings include one driver in Redby who captured footage of a bear approaching their vehicle, while another bear was observed destroying a Diaper Genie on a front porch in Pillager, Minnesota.
The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources also fatally shot a black bear in north Minneapolis on Sunday after it was roaming through a residential area.