The Public’s Help Is Needed To Find The Person Or Persons Responsible For Suspected Poaching Of A Mother Bear Leaving 2 Bear Cubs Orphaned In California

Sad news as two bear cubs that were recently rescued in Northern California are now thought to be victims of a poaching.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) posted the update on its Facebook page while requesting information on the two small cubs that they found, after being alerted by a concerned citizen on March 9^th near the area of Long Gulch on Highway 96 in Yreka, California. 

“Wildlife officers believe one or more persons may be responsible for unlawfully separating the young bears from their mother,” the CDFW posted on its Facebook page. “Officers are continuing their investigation, including processing evidence left at the scene.”

After unsuccessfully trying to find the mother bear, the department arranged to transport the cubs to its Wildlife Investigations Laboratory in Sacramento County where the cubs were evaluated by CDFW wildlife veterinarians

The 5-week-old male cubs, now named Blaze and Yreka, were then transferred to Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, where they will remain until they weigh approximately 100 pounds each and can be released home into the wild.

“We should have them for about a year,” the nonprofit organization, which is hand feeding the cubs four times a day, posted on its Facebook page. “Right now, they weigh in at just over 4 pounds each!”

CDFW is requesting that anyone with information contact Warden Dan Beck via the statewide tip hotline, CalTIP, at (888) 334-2258. Tips can also be sent via text to CALTIP, followed by a space and the message to tip411 (847411). CalTIP (Californians Turn In Poachers and Polluters) is a confidential secret witness program that encourages the public to provide CDFW with factual information leading to the arrest and conviction of poachers and polluters.