Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship staff have rescued two orphaned polar bear cubs from an area along the Hudson Bay coastline within the Kaskatamagan Wildlife Management Area. Following a medical examination, the bears will be moved to the International Polar Bear Conservation Centre (IPBCC) at Assiniboine Park Zoo.
The siblings, one male and one female, are about 10 months old and had been spotted by helicopter along the shore of Hudson Bay, not far from a well-known denning area near York Factory on Sept. 24. Despite an extensive search, efforts to find the mother were unsuccessful. Without the protection of their mother, the cubs would almost certainly not survive. Manitoba Conservation and Water Stewardship determined the most appropriate course of action was to relocate the bears to the IPBCC.
Zoo staff will examine the cubs and carefully supervise their transfer to Winnipeg. The cubs will undergo a standard 30-day quarantine period and will be kept isolated from the public and media during that time.
