Four cubs who spent winter at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care released into wild

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Four bear cubs who spent the winter at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care (LTWC) have been released back into the wild near their original homes. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) has released Ponderosa, Bodie, Thelma and Louise.

LTWC thanked CDFW for their partnership, planning, and preparation for the big release dates.

Each cub was fitted with a GPS tracking collar prior to release. These collars will provide helpful information that will assist LTWC in future bear cub rehabilitation and release. Some of that gathered information includes where the cubs go, how far their territory range is, how far they travel if they cross paths with other collared cubs, their survival rate, and much more.

The collars are attached by CDFW. They are connected with surgical tubing that breaks when exposed to sun, weather, and other elements, and it also stretches to accommodate the growth of the bear.

This exciting opportunity is not always available, since fitting a cub with a GPS tracking collar is expensive - between the actual equipment, data collecting, and eventual collar retrieval. This information LTWC learns from the wild cubs will allow for even more cubs to not only be returned to the wild but thrive there.

To see a video of Ponderosa being fitted with his collar, visit https://www.facebook.com/laketahoewildlifecare.

For more information on LTWC, visit its website at https://ltwc.org/.