Suzy and Johnny: A Story of Survival

The Journey Begins: June 25, 2007

The Northern Lights Wildlife Society received a call from the Dawson Creek Conservation office that one orphaned grizzly cub was captured and that transportation to their shelter was needed. NLWS Director Carolyn Sawyer accompanied Angelika Langen on the 10 hour one way trip. The bear arrived at the Shelter on June 26th. The small female had been spotted along with her mother and sibling a few times this spring. For about one week the cubs had not been seen with their mother and it was assumed that she had been poached. 

July 2007

The little cub was named Suzy and she started to settle in to the shelter, although she appeared a bit depressed without her mother and her sibling.
 
Whenever possible it is important to raise bears together rather than alone.  As Suzy was the only grizzly bear at the shelter it was decided that she would be placed together with black bear cub named Tony.  This would give both bears an opportunity to have a playmate.

At first Suzy was a bit unsure about this new bear.  The two bears sized each other up and quickly became fast friends and spend hours and hours playing together.  Note: When a second grizzly bear was brought into the shelter in November Tony was placed in an enclosure beside Suzy’s where he is with other black bears.  Suzy and Tony will still occasionally sit side-by-side with only the fencing of the two enclosures separating them. 
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Throughout the month of August Suzy grew quickly. Shelter staff quickly learned that grizzly bears like to eat – a lot! Suzy can’t get enough of the dandelions that are put in her cage. She also enjoys using her claws to eat – something that the black bears don’t do. Suzy will use her claws to pick up grapes and pop them into her mouth!
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September 2007

IFAW was happy to support Northern Lights with further grants to assist them in expanding their bear enclosure. The new enclosure will measure 32 metres by 33 metres when it is completed. Inside there will be lots of trees for the bears to climb and a small natural slope where they can dig and build a den. The new enclosure is expected to be completed in September 2008.
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November 2007

On Sunday Nov 11 a report came in that a young grizzly was orphaned near Prince George, when his mother was hit and killed by a big truck. On Monday morning at 4 am Angelika left Smithers to rescue the cub. Weather conditions where extremely poor and driving was a slow. Angelika finally reached the site where the bear had last been at 11:30am.  She searched the area just outside of at Purden Lake Provincial Lake and finally, sited the cub digging for roots at the side of the road at 2pm.
 
Once in care “Johnny” was sedated and given a through check before he was driven back to Smithers.  When he arrived at Northern Lights Johnny was placed in isolation – as is standard practice. 
 
The project now had two grizzly bear cubs and Suzy now had a playmate of her own species. 
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December 2007

Though a bit shy, Johnny, settled in well and he and Suzy have came to a comfortable living arrangement with her as the Alpha bear.
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March 2008

Suzy and Johnny are enjoying exploring their enclosure but seem anxious to be back in the wild.  Suzy likes to lie and her back and investigate her feet, much like a primate.  Both bears explore everything that comes into their enclosure.  Apparently they really enjoy using their paws to touch and investigate things.  Suzy actually uses her long claws as a fork to pick up fruit and eat it!
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May 2008

The bears are doing great and are VERY active.  They love to dig and have turned their enclosure upside down several times now. Contact has been reduced to a bare minimum, only Peter going up twice daily to feed or clean. The bears are showing all the right signs of loosening their bonds with humans, just as the black bears do, which is very reassuring and suggests that they are ready to stand on their own soon.
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June 2008

The bears are unaware of all the major activity that is going on to plan their upcoming release. The bears will be released together in mid-July. Both bears will be fitted with satellite collars so that their movements can be monitored. 
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