The three bear cubs discovered in a roadside washroom in Banff last year are eagerly awaiting spring in Ontario’s Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary.
While many bears are starting to emerge from hibernation, these cubs are less than enthusiastic about the current weather. According to the sanctuary, the three bears have been hibernating well this winter, but “after that last snowfall, it seems they’d rather just go back to bed for another week!”
They aren’t the only bears unimpressed with the current weather, but they are perhaps some of the most adorable.
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The trio arrived in Ontario last spring. Alberta does not allow the rehabilitation of bears, so Parks Canada accepted the Rousseau, Ontario sanctuary’s offer to take the bears in. Since then, the three transplants have been thriving in their adopted home.
While the bears have spent a year in the east, they will be headed back to Banff this summer. According to Global News, the plan was always to return them cubs to Alberta once they had grown significantly.
“They’re a lot bigger … they came in at about six-and-a-half pounds and they’re probably, I don’t know, around 130 pounds, at least, now,” said Howard Smith, the managing director of Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary.
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“The timing we’re looking at now [to release them back into Banff] is probably around mid-June, when the vegetation out there is up enough to provide natural food for them.”
Before they can be returned to their home province, however, the three cubs will have to brave the unseasonably cold weather. After all, it’s not like Alberta is known for its mild climate.