Motherless Bear Cub Saved After Falling From Tree

A hunter happened to be in the right place at the right time.

On November 4, ECOs received a call reporting an injured black bear cub. The caller, a bow hunter was walking back to his house after his moring hunt, when he witnessed the bear cub fall approximately 20 feet out of a tree.

Officers arrived and found the bear cub alert, but dazed from the fall. The cub, weighing aproximately 20 pounds had been seen in area for several weeks without a sow.

The officers contacted Matt Merchant, DEC Region 3 bear biologist, who advised the officers to capture the bear and bring it to a wildlife rehabilitator.

With the help of the landowner, and the orginal caller, the officer delivered the bear cub to the kennel.

The caller's children picked an apple off a nearby tree and asked the ECOs to give it to the cub for the journey to the rehabilitator. The cub will spend the winter with the rehabilitator, who will assess and treat the bear for its injuries.