The North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre currently has five young cubs under its care.
Their latest adopted young orphaned bruins, named Neill and Nimpkish for the area near where they were found in Port McNeill, are recovering well.
The other cubs include Shawni, whose named refers to the Shawnigan Lake area where it was found; Minto, named for the street in Cumberland where it was rescued; and Barkley, named after the area in Ucluelet where it came from.
The centre does its best to tend to the young cubs. According to NIWRA executive director Joyce Lee, they are extra conscious of what they feed them.
"The diets are specialized," said Lee, who added "it costs approximately $40 per day to meet the needs of one bear. Cubs usually stay with us for approximately 15 months."
Lee indicated they rely on donations to help cover some of the costs to take care of the bears. They are grateful for any donations and anyone wishing to help can go online at https://www.canadahelps.org/en/dn/10585
The NIWRA is a wildlife rehabilitation centre that specializes in black bear cubs as well as birds of prey.
To reflect on the many years the NIWRA has committed to help orphaned black bears recover and eventually released back into the wild, it has created a Bear Pavilion that will be opened to the public on Saturday, Aug. 23.
The centre is celebrating its 40th anniversary since it was opened by Robin and Sylvia Campbell.
The facility is located at 1240 Leffler Rd., in Errington.
