When wildlife officials allowed “Blondie” the bear over the objections of local elected leaders in March, it was unclear whether her two orphaned cubs would be able to live in the wild again.
The small furry animals weigh only 5.8 and 7.6 kilograms. They needed to be spoon fed four times a day. And they could not be allowed to observe humans, as this would interfere with their development of survival skills.
But now the 4-month-old brothers have reached a promising stage in their journey toward independence, successfully transitioning to outdoor living and starting to feed themselves independently at the San Diego Humane Society's Ramona Wildlife Center.
“Getting out is a big step,” Autumn Welch, wildlife manager at the Humane Society, said in a statement Tuesday. “The cubs gain confidence, explore and learn the skills they will need to survive on their own.”
The San Diego Humane Society does everything it can to simulate how bears can grow in the wild. The workers first donned bear masks and fur, then crawled into the enclosure to spoon-feed formula to the lambs. The cubs now feast on solid food and love the fruits and leaves of native plants, and will continue to explore the great outdoors as they grow in confidence.
The news is welcome to Angelenos who were distraught when the Department of Fish and Wildlife decided to euthanize Blondie's mother in March following two incidents where she assaulted local residents.
The speed with which Blondie was killed and the lack of consideration for the fate of her offspring sparked outrage as, normally, cubs stay close to their mothers for the first 18 months of their lives.
“The city was not part of that discussion or decision [to euthanize],” Monrovia Mayor Becky Shevlin said in March.
Fish and Wildlife, on the other hand, stood by its decision, saying that he is used to people being moved to this forest and that he may return, which has led to people's conflict. Officials also said Blondie is at risk of passing on patterns of dependence on humans for food and shelter to her young.
But Blondie's fans pointed out that this was not his fault, noting that the onus is on residents to be responsible bear neighbors, closing crawl spaces and trash cans to help prevent bears from becoming dependent on humans.
His death inspired Sen. Catherine Blakespear (D-Encinitas) to introduce Senate Bill 1135, which would mandate non-lethal solutions to wildlife conflicts. If passed, it would provide public education about reducing negative encounters with wildlife, provide technical assistance to keep bears and wolves away from human habitat and maintain a statewide incident reporting system.
Monrovia resident Brian Gordon said Tuesday he was grateful to hear that Blondie's two orphaned cubs are doing well and hopes they can learn the important life lessons needed to be released into the wild.
“Their lives helped drive the momentum behind SB 1135, including raising public awareness of the improvements needed within CDFW policies and transparency,” he said. “Blondie's legacy lives on through them, I hope they bring about the necessary changes that will help secure their future.”
