Bears at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care heading back home soon

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - The four bear cubs who have been spending the winter at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care (LTWC) will soon be heading back into the wild.

Last summer, the nonprofit organization in South Lake Tahoe lost two of their six cubs suddenly to a virus called Canine Adenovirus. This came as a shock to the group who has rehabilitated animals from not only Lake Tahoe, but from around the state since forming forty years ago in 1978.

The LTWC veterinarian, Dr. Kevin Willitts, worked with Dr. Brandon Munk of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to determine the cause of these bear’s deaths. The Canine Adenovirus discovery was after extensive work by Dr. Munk and his team, alongside various other agencies.

Through additional testing, the remaining four cubs being cared for at LTWC’s facility were found to be positive for the virus. Initial concerns included the source of this virus so LTWC took immediate measures to quarantine the remaining cubs, in addition to the rest of the rehabilitation compound.

The loss of these two bear cubs stimulated additional investigation by Dr. Munk and pathologists at the California Animal Health and Food Safety Laboratory. Their work has shown that other black bears in California have been exposed to Canine Adenovirus. Their investigations are ongoing and the significance of these findings is yet to be known. One bear who died after being hit by a car near Lake Tahoe Golf Course last fall was also found to be carrying the virus.

"After the two died, UC Davis identified the virus and sent the bears' blood and urine sent to Cornell University for further testing," said Tom Milham, founding member of LTWC and whose wife Cheryl started the care facility in their home. "They think all bears might have it, but they don't know why the other two died."

The four remaining cubs continued to show excellent health and are expected to remain healthy. They entered into their hibernation period in early December and have been sleeping and seen nestling in the straw inside their den.

Burns Canyon and Laytonville, two of the cubs, are expected to be released in the next week or two. LTWC always names the cubs that stay with them after the area they come from. The other two, Sky (Skyline) and Bliss (DL Bliss State Park), came from the South Shore and are scheduled to be released in late April/early May.

California Fish & Wildlife determines when the bears housed with the Milhams will be released. When its time, Dr. Willetts will immobilize the cub, draw blood and urine, then one of the wildlife biologists will give them an ear tag and transport back home. They have determined that an area within a 75-mile radius of where they were originally picked up is close enough as sometimes they can't get any closer due to wildfire damage or other unsafe conditions.

Burn Canyon will be first and head home to that area near Big Bear Lake, followed by Laytonville who will go to the Mendocino area.

The volunteer organization spends about $100 per week per bear for food. They love to eat natural foods and produce such as peaches, watermelon, grapes, nectarines, fish, carrots and lettuce. When they housed 13 bears in 2013, produce trucks stopped by the Milham home twice a week with 20-25 cases of produce in each truckload.

To donate, or for more information, visit https://ltwc.org/.