Bear Orphanage
Name:
Bear Orphanage
Breed:
American Black Bear
History:
Bear Orphanage consists of two five-acre habitats. Each habitat can house up to nine bears. We already have...
Sanctuary News
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Orphaned Black Bear Cub Arrives from Valdez, Alaska
- On a cold winter morning in Valdez Alaska, an Alaskan resident walked outside to find a hungry black bear cub rummaging through his garbage looking for food in two feet of snow. With no mother in sight, an obvious sign this frightened cub needed some help, the resident was able to get the motherless bear into a dog carrier in his garage. He then contacted the Alaska Department of Fish and Game who made arrangements for him to be picked up. With the help of Shana Anderson, Manager of the Animal Shelter Facility in Valdez, the cub was then taken to the Alaska Zoo until a permanent home was found for him. If one could not be found, the helpless cub was to be euthanized. IEAS received word that this vulnerable bear cub needed a new home and immediately contacted the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to offer assistance. With the help of the Dallas Zoo, Texas Parks and Wildlife, and the Humane Society of the United States, a letter campaign to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game began to have them release the innocent baby bear to IEAS. With all this wonderful support, plus the Alaska Department determining that IEAS was indeed an excellent facility, they agreed to send the bear cub to the Sanctuary. With the assistance of Shannon Jenson, Curator of the Alaska Zoo, the little cub boarded a plane in Anchorage Alaska and arrived in Texas where he was met by the Staff of IEAS to take him on his final trip to his new home. This once doomed bear cub now has a second lease on life and will have the best quality of life possible in captivity!
The orphaned bear cub arrived at IEAS on January 15th. He is being kept in our quarantine area until he is settled and comfortable with his surroundings. Now, during the morning hours and late evening, you will see him sitting on his high perch watching everything around him. He is taking it all in and has come a long way in just a few days. He is even taking grapes from Louis, Animal Behaviorist, and Christi, Curator/Asst. Behaviorist, as they visit with him throughout the day. He already seems to long for attention; whenever Louis or Christi spend time with him, he comes right over and tries to get into their lap. Using our Emotional Enrichment Program, Louis and Christi will provide this cub with the security, comfort and affection he once received from his mother.
Eventually he will be taken down to one of the holding areas of Bear Orphanage: a beautiful, naturalistic, five-acre habitat that consists of forest and meadow areas along with ponds and dens, which are all part of the natural ecosystem for the bear. There he will be next to three other orphaned bears that IEAS rescued last year. They are all about the same age, so one day, in the near future, they will all form a bond and start hanging out together. They will become a social unit as have our other four rescued black bears.
Donations to help take care of this adorable bear are appreciated. He has been through a lot these past few months and needs your help! I know times are hard with the economy, but any amount or help you are able to give to help this cub will enable him to receive the best quality of life possible in captivity.
About Us
WHO WE ARE
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International Exotic Animal Sanctuary, Inc. (
IEAS) was founded in Boyd, Texas in 1988 as a 501(c)(3), nonprofit tax-exempt corporation. IEAS's current mission is the care and welfare of its animal inhabitants, as well as educating the public about their needs. The inhabitants include bobcats, cougars, jaguars, leopards, lions, tigers and bears among other species. As of April 2007, 58 felines and nine bears call IEAS home, with spacious habitats, pools and houses. The employees and volunteers who care for the animals give of their time and talents to ensure the quality of life to which they are entitled. What we do
Our Mission: The purpose and goals of IEAS are to provide a permanent sanctuary for exotic animals that have been abused, abandoned, neglected, confiscated, or previously owned by people unwilling or unable to provide for these magnificent beings. Additionally, IEAS educates the public through school programs, tour lectures,support for conservation programs, and public appearances about the value and worth of these sensitive, intelligent and perceptive animals, so that their future, as an important part of our world, is insured. We are committed to strengthening and promoting conservation education and other avenues to foster conservation in which we can participate. Our major goal is to give the resident animals the best quality of life we can give them in captivity through our Emotional Enrichment Program, which deals with the emotional well-being of each individual animal and its individual emotional needs. We do this to fill the need to reduce stress and agitation, give each animal the best life it can have in captivity, and by understanding what is required to achieve that goal.WHY DO WE EXIST
It is a fundamental question that one can ask:
why is there a need for a sanctuary for abandoned, abused and/or confiscated exotic animals? Well in recent times one can find the answer weekly just by watching TV or reading the newspaper on occasion. It seems that there is a proliferation of incidents involving exotic animals all across the country, whether one reads about the 24 big cats confiscated in New Jersey, the tiger kept in an apartment in New York, or the incident in Arizona where a keeper was mauled and seriously injured by a tiger while she was cleaning the compound. The story that stands alone for horror, is the case where dozens of big cats were confiscated in Southern California in unbelievably terrible condition, and authorities found a number of dead cats littering the buildings located at the same facility. Click here to read more: Why Do We Exist?HOW WE DO IT
Of course, we give the animals the very best food that is appropriate for their needs, mixed with minerals and vitamins that are necessary for them to have a well-balanced diet that satisfies all their nutritional needs. We also give the animals very large habitats with a variety of elements that take into account their species-appropriate utilization of space, such as ramps, swimming pools for all tigers and jaguars, trees, perches, climbing poles, and a variety of enrichment items. In addition, we satisfy the animals' emotional needs with a unique program we call "Emotional Enrichment" . Exotic animals are as individual as humans. Sure, there are some generalizations that can be made about a specific species, but there are many more distinctions from one individual to another within that species. So, we work with each individual according to its personality and emotional needs. In general, we have our staff and volunteers treat each animal with the respect and dignity that would be accorded another human. Care is taken not to agitate, irritate, or unduly excite any animal. Our Animal Behaviorist physically interacts with a large number of the large cats. Some of them have never had direct contact with a human. Most of the cats that have had direct contact previously considered it adversarial, as training methods of domination/control were apparently used. We find that most of the cats respond surprisingly well to our method of utilizing only affection, trust, and respect in direct interaction. They obviously enjoy and want positive emotional interaction. We want to caution the reader that without extensive experience, this approach could potentially be very dangerous, and we do not advocate it for anyone that has not had a great deal of experience and training. Read more...
