TOFINO, B.C. — Wildlife-watching guides say a bear cub was near death and hiding near the body of its dead mother when they rescued it.
John Forde and his wife Jennifer Steven, co-owners of The Whale Centre in Tofino, say they got a call about a little cub still snuggled into a dead adult bear in Ross Pass on Friday.
They took a 45-minute boat ride to the area but when they arrived the cub climbed up a tree to hide.
The couple returned the next day to find the cub hiding in the adult bear’s fur.
Forde says he moved slowly towards the cub and was finally able to catch it.
It was about the size of Jack Russell terrier and extremely underweight.
After talking with conservation officers, the couple brought the cub to the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre in Errington, B.C., where it will be looked after until being released back into the wild in about 18 months.