Laurie Snider
Notes from the Nest
In everyone’s life there are standout moments. These usually involve weddings, births, graduations or special achievements, hard-worked for goals met, magnificent vacations taken and sometimes special adventures.
In May 2016, our daughter Ellie and I had just one of those. We had the privilege of driving a 5-lb baby bear cub, we named Daisy, to a sanctuary in Sprucedale, Ontario, founded by Mike McIntosh, called BearWithUs (BWUS).
As a child Mike grew up on a farm, in SW Ontario, where he enjoyed spending time studying wildlife. In 1990, he purchased a farmhouse, north of Huntsville, which had 89 acres, a creek and a pond. After volunteering, at Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, he soon realized there was a great need to help black bears and humans coexist. This’s when he made the decision to devote his time and efforts to this noble cause.
After expressing his interest to the Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, he founded BWUS, in 1992. In 2000, it became incorporated into a registered charity and is authorized annually by the natural resources ministry. His mission statement is, “to promote the understanding and respect for the bear family, a species near the top of the evolutionary scale, a species in direct niche competition with the human race.”
Over the years, BWUS has assisted over 450 orphaned and injured bears, eventually returning them to the wild. They’ve also become home to a few permanent residents over time, Mishoomish, Oso, Molly, Yogi and Bennie. These were bears formerly held in captivity that are not releasable. Bennie is a local native bear, from near here, who suffered a head injury and cannot be returned to the wild. After seeing the facilities first hand, I can attest to the excellent care and accommodations he has, to live out his life happily.
Mike’s four main areas of modus operandi are bear rehabilitation for orphaned and injured bears, acting as a sanctuary for un-releasable bears, public bear education programs, and conflict resolution, including live-trapping and relocation, if necessary.
Mike’s philosophy is, “appreciate, view with respect, allow them to exist, to coexist. The bear will if we will.”
Black bears mate in late May to early July and babies are born in January, weighing only half a pound. They’re cared for by their mothers until approximately 17 months old, when their moms mate again. They weigh between 15-100 lbs by the time they’re yearlings.
A bear is capable of living 21-33 years of age, but many bears living outside of national parks die of gunshot wounds. Very few bears die of disease or old age.
This’s how our adventure with Daisy resulted. She was found on the roadside, near Tweed, as an orphan. Far too young to survive on her own, she was attempting to eat road kill, ending up with a snout full of porcupine quills. A caring individual brought the starving cub, to Sandy Pines Wildlife Centre (SPWC). Rather fortuitously for me, it happened to be a day I was there volunteering. It isn’t difficult to find volunteers, willing to drive bear cubs to the sanctuary. Ellie, was more than pleased to join me.
After being stabilized for a few days, by the very capable staff at SPWC, she was ready for the trip. Ellie and I picked her up on a lovely bright, sunny, spring morning and made the over four-hour drive, through Algonquin Park to Sprucedale, where we delivered her into Mike’s very capable hands.
Mike a very knowledgeable, extremely kind, caring and humble man, thanked us very much for making the trip.
He most graciously allowed us to watch, as he checked Daisy over, before placing her in his special care unit. In the best interest of the bears, BWUS isn’t open to the public. Care is taken to have the least interactions with humans possible, as they’ll eventually be returned to the wild.
Mike did allow us to meet Yogi and Molly, two of his permanent residents. I can’t begin to tell you what a thrill it was. Molly wasn’t particularly interested in us but Yogi came over, sniffed our hands and enjoyed a great scratch behind the ears, from his buddy Mike. The entire adventure was definitely a standout day!
In December 2017, after becoming a much bigger and stronger bear, with the assistance of the MNR, Daisy was released, in a remote location, back in our area, where I pray she will live a long, happy, healthy life.
In a world fraught with negativity, sad stories and unsettling news, it does one’s heart good, to meet people like Mike. He’s someone who’s doing more than his share, to make the world a better place. It was an honour for Ellie and me, to play even a small part.