'We have a responsibility to our relations' - how a Wiikwemkoong family rescued two orphaned bear cubs

Indigenous environmental science professor Jesse Poppwas planning on spending the May long weekend fishing with her family at their Point Grondine camp but Mother Nature had other plans.

"The night we got there, we were hearing some really weird chilling screams and we were sitting around the bonfire like, what is that?

"It sounded like a woman or baby screaming, so of course we had to investigate," she said.

That's how Poppand her family spotted a baby bear sitting up in a tree, howling away. As they weren't sure of the whereabouts of the mother, they decided to return to the safety of their camp.

But, being Bear Clan from Wiikwemkoong, they wanted to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the cub.

"As Bear Clan, we see bears and all of our animal relations as our kin and we have a responsibility to protect and take care of these beings."

The next day, they found the mother's dead body on the side of the road near their camp.

"It looked like through the signs left behind that she had dragged herself over to the side of the road and laid on her back because she wanted to take care of her cubs as she passed away as one final way to help them," said Popp.

She addedthat something needed to be done to keep the cubs alive, as they still relied on their mother's milk for sustenance.

So they worked tirelessly to track them down, and finally found them close to their mom's body.

"We were able to take blankets and wrap them up," she said. "Then we got some special milk formula and called the Bear With Us sanctuary."

Cubs now being cared for in a bear sanctuary

That bear rehabilitation facility is located in Sprucedale, about an hour from Parry Sound.

Bear With Us president and founder Mike McIntosh says the centre received calls about at least three injured or orphaned bear cubs in the Greater Sudbury area in the last couple of days.

"These bear-car collisions happen especially on long weekends when there's traffic bumper to bumper and animals have a hard time darting across the road," he said.

He says bears have distinctive personalities and it's not clear yet what kind of traits these two orphaned cubs will have.

"Right now they're extremely stressed. They have no way of knowing we're not going to kill or hurt them," he said.

McIntosh saidthey've minimized contact for now to let them get used to their new surroundings, but they are located close to another, slightly older orphaned cub.

"This bear has been chuckling and talking to those cubs, and hearing her seems to be helping them settle," he added.

The plan is to keep feeding the cubs milk formula until they are old enough for more solid foods, like berries. They should be able to reintegrate to the Killarney area by next summer.

McIntosh says people who encounter bears in the wild should reach out to the Ontario's Bear Wise program for guidance and advice.

As for Popp, she said, "just like humans, our animal relations sometimes need help, and if you're careful and respectful and remember that we have a responsibility to our relations, we can all help one another with coexisting."