The search for three orphaned bear cubs in Sooke has so far had no success in locating the triplets on the lam.
The trio were left without a mother on Nov. 14, when the sow was hit by a vehicle and killed. Sooke-based wildlife education group Wild Wise blamed easy access to garbage, which the family of bears had been accessing for weeks, as the cause of the accident.
In the days following, the cubs took refuge in a tree overhanging the ocean, which made retrieval of the cubs impossible.
Wild Wise has been unable to locate the bears after they descended from the tree overnight on Nov. 18. The group has been appealing to the public to report all real-time sightings to the Conservation Officer Service, to assist in the search of the missing cubs.
The cubs were last reported by Wild Wise to be in the area of Townsend Road/Wadams Way on Nov. 22.
"Experts have advised us that these cubs are approximately 10 months old and appear healthy," said Wild Wise in a statement on Nov. 24. "[They are] at an age where they would likely be weaning."
"Many have advised us that there is a possibility they may hibernate together and survive on their own."
The group says they are still optimistic the cubs can be located and moved to the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre in Errington for rehabilitation.
"But again, we need to maintain the understanding that wildlife doesn’t always respond or behave the way we expect or assume they will," said a Wild Wise spokesperson.
Real-time sightings of the cubs should be made to the Report All Poachers and Polluters (RAPP) line at 1-877-952-7277. In addition, Wild Wise has asked the public to report sightings to the group via their Facebook page.
"No one has given up," said Wild Wise. "But we do ask for an understanding that we are a small team and it would be nearly impossible for us to check every tree in Sooke, every day – though it feels like we’ve tried."
"Rest assured, we are continuing to follow up on reported sightings and are actively searching the surrounding areas."
