While the Canada-U.S. border is still open it’s important to remember there are restrictions in place that allow essential travel only and that you must have the necessary documents to cross over. This was not the case for a black bear cub nicknamed Annie who recently tried to cross at the Hyder-Stewart border between British Columbia and Alaska. On Facebook, the Canadian Border Services Agency joked around that Annie, “sought entry for essential reasons, but had no travel documents”.
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It is believed the cub was looking for food and shelter when she attempted to cross the border, CBSA officers took action to trap Annie and transfer her into the capable hands of the Northern Lights Wildlife Society. Angelika Langen, a co-founder of the wildlife shelter, had been tracking the bear cub for about a month. As Annie is too young to be on her own and hasn’t been seen with her mother, it is believed that her mother was killed in a vehicle accident. This is why the cub was dubbed Annie after Little Orphan Annie.
After getting the chance to examine Annie, Langen reported that the cub was unprepared for winter, as she weighed in at, “around 21 pounds, and she should have been around 50”. The upside to Annie being so hungry was it made trapping her an easy job.
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Northern Lights Wildlife Society plans to keep Annie through the winter before releasing her in early summer. Fear not, she will be in good company this winter as she joins the 33 other black bears the shelter is currently caring for.
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