Every spring, the Bear With Us Centre for Bears in Sprucedale sees an influx of orphaned black bear cubs.
Some of the mothers are hit by cars. Others may have been separated from their babies due to logging or legal hunting.
According to the centre’s president and founder Mike McIntosh, one thing is consistent: “Almost all the orphaned cubs are caused by human activity.”
What’s happening at the Bear With Us centre?
In March, Bear With Us took in three orphaned cubs from northwestern Ontario after a logging operation near Dryden disturbed their den.
The mother fled, and despite MNR efforts the next day, she couldn’t be found. The two-month-old male cubs were flown to Sault Ste. Marie, where McIntosh met the plane and brought them to the sanctuary.
Recent Facebook updates show the cubs — Ozzy, Oscar, and Oliver — have steadily gained weight and co-ordination with round-the-clock care. They’ll be released near their original home in summer 2026, at a site selected by MNR staff.
Apart from the three orphans, the centre also has five other cubs in its care, as well as 59 yearling bears (those typically around 18 months old).
Many of the yearlings arrive malnourished, likely orphaned during the fall hunt and unable to survive the winter on their own. The older bears are scheduled for release in July and August.
What’s important to understand about living with bears?
While Bear With Us exists to care for orphaned and injured bears, its mission also includes education and prevention.
“We try to rectify the wrongs that human activity does,” McIntosh said. “At the same time, we’re trying to help people understand these animals better and educate them so we can coexist safely with them.”
McIntosh, who has worked with bears for 32 years, says he’s never encountered an aggressive bear. However, when the animals are trying to reach a food source, they may display assertive behaviours such as stomping, snorting, or cocking their jaws.
“That’s a nervous or scared bear; it’s not an aggressive bear,” he said. “Assertive is far more accurate than aggressive, and I know ‘aggressive’ gets used a whole lot. It’s really the wrong term.”
Assertive bears want their way but won’t harm anyone, while truly aggressive bears are extremely rare and may strike without warning, McIntosh said.
How do hunters view their role in bear populations?
McIntosh said that from what he’s seen in the region, responsible hunters try not to shoot mothers — but mistakes can happen. Hunters might accidentally shoot mother bears because they’re a similar size to younger males, making them hard to tell apart.
“I do think most hunters would try to be very careful,” McIntosh said.
Bob and Kristy Lupton, longtime hunters from Huntsville, said they don’t believe orphaned cubs are mainly linked to hunting. Instead, they think most cases result from residents protecting their property, bears being hit by vehicles on the highway, or natural selection in the wild.
While they both participate in the spring and fall bear hunts, they cautiously avoid mother bears and cubs. Kristy said one common misconception they’d like to dispel is that hunters are reckless or irresponsible when it comes to bears.
“A lot of people think hunting is bad … but us hunters aren’t out there shooting every bear … or mothers and cubs,” Kristy said. “(Hunters are) eating the meat and also tanning the hides into carpets. There’s no waste … It’s just the circle of life.”
Bob added that hunting plays a role in managing bear populations, which helps protect other species like moose by reducing the risk of predation on vulnerable newborns.
Bob also said hunting provides “natural” and “pesticide-free” meat that his family and neighbourhood enjoys — from sausages to bear bacon burgers.
“(Hunting) is not just to go out and kill something,” he said. “We’re going out there because we want to eat.”
Bear-wise tips:
Don’t leave garbage or food outside, harvest garden fruits and veggies as soon as they’re ripe, and avoid putting out bird feeders.
According to the province, if you encounter a black bear, slowly back away. More tips can be found here.
Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources suggests directly reporting bear sightings to their non-emergency bear line 1-866-514-2327.
For Bear With Us Centre for Bears, call or text 705-571-4397 or email info@bearwithus.org.
