1. Idaho Black Bear Rehab, Inc.
www.bearrehab.org

2. Valerie M. Stephan-LeBoeuf

3. IBBR Rehabilitation
of Black Bears

4. Founded in 1989 - Non-profit organization
Mission is to give all orphaned cubs a second chance at life in the wild by:
• Rescuing, rehabilitating and releasing orphaned cubs whenever
possible.
• Instituting bear rehabilitation programs and training rehabilitators in
states where the option currently does not exist.
• Working with state wildlife agencies to establish bear rehab as a
standard part of their wildlife management policies.
• Educating the public about bear rehab and our shared responsibility
to protect wild bears and their habitat.
• Continue learning and sharing rehab methods to successfully release
orphaned cubs.

6. Located in Garden City
Ada County, Idaho
on 2.228 acres

7. Bears arrive at IBBR all year.
• Age on arrival has ranged from three (3) weeks to seven (7)
years.
• Arrival weights range: 1.27 kg / 2.8 lbs – 33.11kg / 73 lbs.
• Release weights range: 22.68 kg / 50 lbs – 97.07 kg / 214 lbs.

8. Black Bear Rehabilitation
Arrival
Feeding
Facilities
Socialization
Medical Care
Release

9. Infants 8-12 Weeks
4 months
6 months
8 months to release
7 yr old female
w/yearling cub

10. Not a One-Size-Fits-All Approach
After caring for nearly 220 bears during the last 26 years,
IBBR has found that each bear's individual personality is as
distinct as the variety of personalities we find among humans.
Rehabilitation of bears can never take a "one-size-fits-all"
approach. Besides providing for a variety of physical needs,
such as those facing newborns, malnourished, injured, or
bears fighting disease, support for emotional trauma, or
inquisitive and active minds, rehabilitation must be
customized for each and every bear. IBBR is well known for
adapting rehabilitation techniques and facilities to fit the
needs of individual bears.

11. Facilities
• Facilities of IBBR include five (5) outdoor
enclosures that can accommodate a variety of
bear ages, medical conditions and smooth
transitions into the populations of current
resident bears in rehabilitation.
• Enclosures vary in length, width, height,
enhancements, etc., so that they are tailored to
accommodate the constantly varying needs
of bears that enter the rehabilitation program.

13. Den Boxes

14. The opportunity to explore

15. Socialization =
Security, Play, Good Health, Natural Bear Behavior

16. Remote Monitoring - 2007

17. Release

18. A second chance at freedom…

19. • Data recovered over the past 26 years indicates that
IBBR bears have documented survival rates up to 6
years post-release.
• Radio collar tracking and post-mortem retrieval of ear
tags show that few IBBR bears have become involved in
conflict situations within 30 days post release (< .015), or
within 31 days to 1 year post release (< .02).
• Most bears (> .96) are considered successfully released.
• Some IBBR bears were studied up to 6 years post-
release and were not only surviving but were
documented to produce multiple sets of surviving
offspring.
Results

20. Total Bears Received 219
Bears currently in rehab 3
Died prior to Release from
pre-existing injury/illness 10 (.046)
Died During Tranquilizing 1 (.005)
Total Released 205
Post Release Data 111 (.541)
Human/Bear Conflict
1st 30 days 3 (.015)
Human/Bear Conflict
31 days to 1 year 4 (.019)
Died within 1st 30 days
(excludes Conflict) Vehicle 2 (.010)
Post Release Data Pending To Date
94 bears (62 Idaho Bears) (.458)
Released
Survival
Died post release
Conflict Activity

21. Survival rates based on data retrieved to date, May 2015
1 month post release (.05)
2 months post release (.055)
3 months post release (.055)
4 months post release (.075)
5 months post release (.04)
6 months post release (.015)
8 months post release (.015)
9 months post release (.02)
10 months post release (.005)
12 months post release (.035)
1.5 years post release (.015)
2 years post release (.01)
2.5 years post release (.005)
3 years post release (.005)
4 years post release (.005)
5 years post release (.005)
6 years post release (.005)
Photos of den exit behavior - Julie
Miller, graduate studies, Brigham Young
University

22. First Option: Rehabilitation & Release
• Black bears are well represented throughout
numerous zoos in the U.S.
• Black bears are naturally "nomadic,” and the
best of enclosures cannot replicate natural
experiences that will fulfill their instinctual drives
and complex behaviors.
• Public sentiments are moving away from
traditional models of captivity as being
appropriate for all animal species – i.e. Blackfish
re Orcas in aquariums.

23. Myths and Fallacies
• Bears will become habituated / food
conditioned.
• Bears won’t know how to fend for
themselves.
• Bears will experience human/bear
conflicts.
• Bears need to be in a “wild” environment
during rehab.
• Nobody cares about an individual bear.

24. Habituation / Food Conditioned
Usually when the term habituation is
used it is meant to imply that the
bears are attracted to humans for
food and other needs.
However, bears that are fully
habituated to humans ignore them.
Thus, habituated bears would not
necessarily be attracted to humans
for food and other needs. *
* Whitaker and Knight 1998; Rogers et
al. 2011.
To date, and based on recovered data, over
96% of IBBR bears are considered
successfully released, as they sustained
themselves and did not become involved in
human/bear conflict during the first month
post release.

25. Learning to Fend for Themselves
IBBR’s experience has
shown that the behaviors and
skills that black bears need
to survive in the wild are
instinctive and do not need to
be taught.

26. Skills to Survive
Maturing of the bears’ “wild instinct” during rehab.
“Around the first week of October, their behavior
changes dramatically. They spook at everything
including us during our normal routine. They run
wildly to the other end of the enclosure as if some
bizarre event were happening. Only when visual
recognition takes place will they settle down…It begins
to taper off as the weather changes and they become
more lethargic in preparation for hibernation.”
Maughan, Sally, IBBR, 2004, updated 2010,
Bear Rehab Handbook

27. Human/Bear Conflict
Key elements for a successful reintroduction into the wild:
• Adequate high quality release habitat
• Minimum contact with humans for 7-10 days post
release
• An opportunity to socialize with other bear cubs during
early development
• Individual personalities *
* Bereczky L, Mihai P, Lajos B. Personality distinctiveness in juvenile brown bears – can
behavior traits of juveniles predict later problematic behavior?

28. Be BearWise
Many of the situations that result in orphan cubs, injured
bears, property damage, and personal injury, can be
avoided by educating the public, and offering tips and
solutions on how to co-exist peacefully with bears in
their wild environment. IBBR is committed to sharing
information with the public, and wildlife agencies -
information that can offer potential solutions to problems
that lead to injury, illness, and orphan-states of bear
cubs.

29. Near-urban rehab facilities
Opportunities to
Explore
Socialization
Remote
Monitoring
Security

30. “All assertions for championing
conservation are inherently a
matter of self-interest.”(Simpson, 2013)
John Livingston, in The Fallacy of Wildlife
Conservation notes “that wildlife preservation is
entirely dependent upon individual human
experience.” (Simpson, 2013)
Simpson, S. (2013). Dominion of Bears: Living with wildlife in Alaska. University Press of
Kansas. Lawrence, Kansas.

31. Nobody cares about an individual bear…
Individual members of the public have the opportunity to become aware of a
program that supports the notion that “one bear” does make a difference, and that
“one person” can make a positive impact on wildlife populations. The chance to
report an orphaned or injured bear; the knowledge that their individual concern will
result in that bear receiving humane and appropriate care; and that because of their
initial action, a bear will be returned to the wild – this is the beginning of fostering an
inherent position that all citizens have a stake in the environment and its wildlife
populations.

32. Benefits of Successful Black
Bear Rehabilitation Programs
• Cooperative Effort
• Positive Image Management
• Scientific Value

33. Cooperative Efforts
Search
& Rescue
Medical
Treatment
Data
Collection
Release &
Tracking
Education &
Outreach

34. Positive Image Management is
a Benefit to Government Agencies
“Rehabilitation programs also have provided positive educational
and public relations value to governmental entities charged
with managing wild bear populations…”
Beecham, John. 2006.

35. Special Cases - Cinder

36. Scientific Value of Rehabilitation Programs
Chengdu Research Base for Giant Panda Breeding in China – cite
the programs of IBBR as a potential model in efforts to return
Giant Pandas bred in captivity to the wild. “The experiences of
rehabilitation and reintroduction with other bear species is
valuable in planning for the eventual reintroduction of giant
pandas…”
The Associated Press. Bear rehabilitators from around world look to black bear center in Idaho for guidance. International
Herald Tribune, The Global Edition of the New York Times 17 July 2007. Accessed online January 8, 2009.
http://www.iht.com/articles / ap/2007/07/18/america/NA-GEN-US-Bea

37. Despite release success, rehabilitation still
remains an under-utilized technique for dealing
with orphan and/or injured black bears.

38. • Ethical and science-based protocols
concerning injured and orphaned black
bear should be considered by wildlife
agencies when drafting regulations and
management plans.
• The fluid nature of bear rehabilitation
programs is important to consider as
agencies draft policies and procedures
meant to regulate bear rehabilitation.

39. • Black bear rehabilitators can be an
important contributor to agency black bear
management policies as they affect black
bear rehabilitation.
• Black Bears can be successfully
rehabilitated at facilities near urban areas.

40. www.bearrehab.org
2014-2015 Acknowledgments