Two Orphaned Black Bears Return Home To Calaveras County

Releasing two bears into the wild in the Arnold area of Calaveras County—CDFW

Calaveras County, CA—After several months of wildlife rehabilitation, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) successfully returned two orphaned black bear siblings to a remote habitat in Calaveras County last month.

After being spotted wandering alone for several days without their mother, whose fate remains unknown, the two male cubs were initially captured in Arnold in July of last year. CDFW spokesperson Ryan Leahy disclosed, “Really good, diligent neighbors and a good Neighborhood Watch actually helped us locate these cups. Originally, they were captured relatively quickly, but again, they were very young at that time and not able to really care for themselves independently.”

Their rehabilitation took place over a period of approximately five months, starting at the Ramona Wildlife Center in San Diego and concluding at the Sonoma County Wildlife Rescue, after arriving there in November 2025. Their release is part of a pilot program in which seven young bears were returned to the wild last fall, rather than the customary spring release. The early scheduling is intended to shorten their stay in captivity and restrict human interaction, boosting the likelihood of successful adaptation to the wild.

“The idea is that there’s less time in human presence, even at a rehab,” advised Leahy. “We want to get them back out there as soon as they’re capable. Do they make it and find a den? Where is that den? Do they stick together? Do they get into conflict? Hopefully not, but we’ll be able to track those sorts of things.”

That is because the bears have been equipped with GPS collars to track their travels and ear tags to aid in visual identification by wildlife officials and the public.

“Monitoring the behavior and survival of these cubs will help inform future black bear conservation and management in California,” said Arjun Dheer, CDFW’s Statewide Black Bear Coordinator. “Black bears are remarkably adaptable animals, which has contributed to their presence across many of the state’s diverse habitats. California has a stable population of about 60,000 black bears, the most in the contiguous United States.”

CDFW encourages the public to avoid feeding orphaned or wild cubs and to immediately contact their regional office if they encounter bears that may need help.

“If they’re in areas of development, we want to know about it,” added Leahy. “We’re really trying to prevent conflict. The ideal situation is that they don’t go into a conflict area, but if they do, and if they start getting into human resources, we definitely want to know about that as soon as we can.”

This initiative is part of CDFW and partner wildlife rehabilitation institutions’ continuous efforts to safely release young bears to their native environment while reducing risks to both the animals and the community.