The Grizzly Bear Refuge is an education, conservation and research facility that offers a second chance at life for orphan grizzly bear cubs within a protected, spacious and natural mountainside habitat.

The Refuge provides research staff a unique opportunity to observe behaviour and life skill development of grizzly cubs as they grow in a natural setting. Researchers record daily observations made on activities such as foraging, playing, sleeping, survival, social skills and hibernation. This research helps us understand which skills orphan grizzly bears acquire through trial and error and which skills are instinctual. Observations are made on how they learn and when in their development they acquire each skill. To date, these observations indicate that orphan grizzly bear cubs have many innate instincts (traits that the cubs are born with) that we might call ‘common sense.’ From our research conclusions, it is determined if an orphan can attain the necessary survival skill level required to allow its release back into the wild.

Due to the large size of the protected habitat, Boo is able to forage on a diverse variety of native vegetation. Much of these foraging skills are learned by trial and error (if they like it and it provides nourishment they continue to eat it). In the wild, they watch and mimic their mother and learn from her. Our observations may allow us to conclude that even without maternal guidance, orphan cubs in a protected environment given the same opportunities as wild grizzly bear cubs, are able to learn and grow at a similar pace.

The Grizzly Bear Refuge also studies the environmental impact a grizzly bear has on a large enclosed habitat. This helps us to determine how much area is required to allow the bears to be physically, socially and mentally healthy. The habitat is monitored to determine if it can sustain the grizzly cub, and allows for native vegetation to be maintained. This information will assist in the management of habitats for future orphan grizzly bears.

Hibernation studies are an important part of our research. We are discovering leading edge information previously unavailable to researchers, gathered as we allow the orphan cubs to follow their natural winter cycle and hibernate just as wild grizzly bears do. Boo can enter and emerge from his log den at will during the over-wintering period. Data is gathered on temperature and humidity inside the den as well as the ambient outside temperature. Boo is monitored with the help of an infrared night vision camera that records all activities in the den. Our hibernation research is demonstrating the correlation of weather and light on the bear’s activity level during the winter months. Grizzly bears tend to be more active in the hibernation den stretching and playing when the weather is warm. During cold snaps, there is noticeably much less activity, preserving valuable body heat and energy. This research will enable a better understanding of the natural cycles of a hibernating grizzly bear.

Based on this current research, our goal is to develop a protocol to raise future orphan grizzly bear cubs and safely release them back into the wild. Currently, there is no government-sanctioned program within North America that allows the release of orphaned grizzly bear cubs back into the wild. The Grizzly Bear Refuge hopes to be the first to implement such a program.

In addition to contributing important data to the scientific community, we are actively sharing our research findings with guests at the refuge. The Grizzly Bear Refuge Public Education Program includes; daily personalized interpretive tours of the refuge, informative signage and an on-site information centre.