July 3rd 2003 was the start of a new and exciting program at Kicking Horse Mountain Resort. This day marked the commencement of the Grizzly Bear Refuge with the arrival of two young orphaned grizzly bear cubs.
The two cubs were orphaned in June 2002, when their mother was shot by a hunter off the side of a highway, in northern BC. The brothers were only 5 months old when they were orphaned; too young to survive on their own. Their destiny changed when wildlife officials brought them to the Refuge for Endangered Wildlife at Grouse Mountain, BC.
One year later in July 2003 the two cubs, given the names of Cari and Boo after the Cariboo Region of the province where they were born, arrived in their 22 acre lush habitat. The brothers played, frolicked, foraged and explored within their new home.
In the spring of 2004, Cari passed away within his hibernation den. The Abbotsford provincial veterinary laboratory deemed his death natural from a twist in his intestine. Boo, with all the confidence, set out in a new summer season to become bolder and more proficient at being a grizzly bear. Boo has shown us that he is a resilient creature able to overcome the loss of his mother and brother, showing an overwhelming amount of “people” traits known as courage, wisdom, and strength.
2004 and 2005 proved to be very successful for Boo and the Grizzly Bear Refuge. Boo reflected many natural anticipated bear traits, but also showed us his intelligence and how well an orphaned bear could learn life skills if given enough space and time to develop them. Boo is an amazing grizzly bear and has learned many things we thought were never possible. The start of winter 2004 triggered an instinctive trait hard wired into grizzly bears - the preparation for hibernation. Boo was no exception. Even without the guidance or vision of ever seeing a den being built, Boo dug a den as if he tore a page from the book “How to build a grizzly bear den in the Rocky Mountains”. This success was more than we had ever anticipated and proved that an orphaned cub could learn the necessary traits needed to survive in the wild. Boo, however, is our ambassador and he teaches us what we need to know. There were never plans to release Boo back into the wild due to the amount of human interaction that he has had. In the future if cubs were ever to be considered for rehabilitation they would need to have minimal human interaction to even be considered. This process would also take place out of public view to ensure success of the program.
In the summer of 2006 Boo’s instinctive nature was tested as he pursued a wild female grizzly bear passing in estrus. Boo dug under his seasonal enclosure fence, doing one of the most important things for grizzly bears as they mature, mating! He spent 33 days away from the Refuge with determined and dedicated refuge staff monitoring his daily movements with helicopters and spotting scopes. A tired, malnourished, and dehydrated Boo bear returned on his own to the habitat where he knew food was abundant. Boo remained within the habitat until hibernation commenced. This past winter brought record snowfalls, keeping Boo occupied snoozing within his den. This winter Boo slept a solid 4 months and 12 days before poking his head outside to see if spring was approaching. A lot of rowdy behaviour makes for a tired and wary bear!
As with all things new, learning, adapting and changing is part of our motto. New challenges are seen as ways of improving and updating the way we think and learn. We are in the process of phasing in a new permanent style fence for Boo. We pledge to turn new challenges into milestones, moving forward, considering and accounting for Boo’s interests.
2007 marks the fourth year within the mountainous habitat, showing Refuge staff the inherent traits that bears are born with. Without a mother to guide and teach Boo he is able to explore, and thru trial and error, has become as proficient as other grizzly bears. Boo spends his winters tucked away within a custom built log cabin and lines the inside of his den with matted vegetation to create the most comfortable sleep for himself.