Come to bear
New cubs move into enclosure originally built for Little Bear
New cubs enjoying life at Two Rivers Wildlife Park.
The cub who caught the hearts of people across the country will forever be part of Two Rivers Wildlife Park.
Park manager Johnny Huntington said Little Bear — who tragically died July 31— has been cremated.
“Some of his ashes will be spread by his enclosure,” he said.
Huntington said they just recently received final results of the necropsy performed at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Prince Edward Island.
Dr. Steven Nicholson of Sydney Animal Hospital said following the necropsy there wasn’t a definitive cause of death. However, working with different pathologists and zoo veterinarians it was determined Little Bear most likely had a birth defect when born.
“The pathologists and zoo veterinarian feel he had something wrong at birth and that was likely the cause of him being abandoned in the first place,” Nicholson said.
Nicholson said if there is something wrong with a cub the mother will naturally abandon it.
“It’s felt that’s the most likely scenario as everything looked good on the necropsy.”
Little Bear had fallen ill the week prior with severe abdominal pain and surgery was performed and foreign matter was found in his intestines. Nicholson said the bear responded well to antibiotics and his death was not connected to the abdominal pain or surgery.
Nicholson was credited with saving Little Bear’s life when the cub was first brought to the park as it was felt he might not live but ended up responding to treatment.
Although Little Bear didn’t die form anything he ate, Nicholson reminds the public never to feed any of the animals anything other than the feed the park provides as anything else could cause harm.
While some of Little Bear’s remains will be at the park, some will be given to park attendant Mike Timmons who raised Little Bear and caught a lot of attention through his amazing bond with the bear and their antics from hugging to wrestling. Thousands of people attended Little Bear’s birthday party in March.
“When Little Bear died we received thousands of messages and memorial cards,” Huntington said.
“Some of the cards were actually addressed to Mike and he could never open them in front of anyone, he’d take them home to read.”
Timmons said he’ll be keeping Little Bear’s ashes at his home and will have a plaque with them.
It was Timmons who drove Little Bear’s remains to Prince Edward Island for the necropsy.
Almost two months later he still finds it hard to talk about it.
“It was quite difficult seeing him go.”
Little Bear’s story started in May 2016 when he was found abandoned in Whycocomagh severely underweight and suffering from pneumonia. Huntington said Nova Scotia doesn’t have a rehabilitation
program for black bears and to be released to the wild a bear has to be put in a 40-mile radius away from civilization.
The park appealed to the public for help as the only way they could keep the cub from being euthanized by the Department of Natural Resources was to build a 18,000-square-foot enclosure with a pool at a cost of $40,000, and the public came through.
In May another tragic bear story followed after a female black bear was electrocuted after climbing a transmission pole in Inverness County. Department of Natural Resources staff found her two-month-old pair of cubs hiding in nearby trees.
One cub, later named Honey, ended up being taken to Shubenacadie Wildlife Park. The other cub, Natalie, went to Two Rivers. However, Shubenacadie couldn’t keep Honey so she ended up at Two Rivers Wildlife Park in late July.
Huntington said if not for the public rallying for the enclosure for Little Bear these cubs most likely would have been put down.
“Because we have this it will allow us to help other bears in the future that need to be saved.”
In the meantime Timmons has looked after Natalie since she was only a couple weeks old and now Honey as well. The new bears were kept separate until a few days ago. Timmons said Honey is more timid as she didn’t have as much human contact as Natalie but is coming around.
The cubs were placed in adjoining parts of the enclosure for a day to allow them to get acquainted.
“When I put them together they smelled each other for about five minutes and then they began playing right away,” he said.
“I don’t think they ever forgot that they were sisters.”
The cubs enjoy playing follow the leader, climbing logs together and wrestling.
“Natalie likes to slap the jets on the pool with her paw,” Timmons said.
“She’ll play with me, I’ll pet her and interact with her, but now that her sister is around she likes to play with her more.”
Work to finish the next section of the bear enclosure continues. Huntington said when completed a sign will be erected dedicating the enclosure to Little Bear and naming the sponsors who made it possible.
When Little Bear died Huntington said messages not only came from across Canada but also the United States.
“We are still getting calls from the United States,” he said.
“Little Bear was special — I don’t know how he was special, but he was. He brought a lot of people together at the park as well.”
“When I put them together they smelled each other for about five minutes and then they began playing right away … I don’t think they ever forgot that they were sisters.” Mike Timmons, Two Rivers Wildlife Park