BLACK BEAR CARE SHEET

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE BUYING A BLACK BEAR

1)	Do you have the time to commit to a black bear?
2)	Can you afford to feed him/her?
3)	Do you have a good size and secure pen for a black bear?
4)	Are black bears legal in your state?
5)	Do you have the patience to bottle feed a bear cub?
6)	Do you have some experience with other animals?
7)	Have you done a lot of research on captive black bears?
8)	Do you realize the strength an adult bear has?
9)	Do you have a vet that is willing to treat a black bear?
10)	Do you have a place to put a large pen so neighbors or other people can not see them?
11)	Are there young kids in your household or kids that come on your property that that would tease the bear or go in the pen?
12)	It there a pond or large pool in the pen? (they love water)

Please do a lot of research on owning a captive-born black bear. A black bear is NOT like a dog.. They have wild animal instincts and can get aggressive for no reason.. Those cute little cubs grow up and are very strong animals. You have to understand their needs, proper food, proper care and proper housing.
I have seen too many people realize, they can't handle a bear and other exotics after they grow up.
Then try to find a home for them. Chances are they are put down or put in a rehab center. This is NOT fair to the animal or the owner. You can't put a bear or any animal in a pen without a lot of human contact, then expect the animal to be friendly. It just don't work that way.

The first thing is, you will need to check with your state and township to see what the regulations are. You should have all the information and required permits before buying a black bear.
Otherwise, you will stand a great chance of losing the cub along with fines.

Black Bears can be a lot of fun, as long as you know you will be able to handle them.
The male bears grows larger then the female bears do.. A female bear will average about 200-250 pounds.. A male bear can get as large as 700 pounds.. The females could be more moodier than a male is..

Click Here for an article that was written by "The American Black Bear Association"
If you already have a black bear, this article gives many ideas for your bear.
If you are considering one, this article might help you decide.

Black Bear Breeders

It is important to know the breeder of the black bear cub before you buy one.. There are several breeders that are only selling bear cubs for money.. Then there are the good breeders that care about the cubs and their welfare..

The bad breeders, generally don't pull the cubs from the mother until the day of the auction or a sale. This will make it very difficult to handle the cub. These cubs did not have human contact until it is sold.. Human contact with cubs is very important, otherwise, some people could get discouraged, bitten and scratched.
I have seen several people run cubs back through the auction, because the cubs were too hard too handle..

To give you an idea of what I am trying to say: When I bought Sybil, I bought her from a bad breeder. She was my first cub. She was very hard to handle. bit, scratched a lot.. It took months before she finally got use to people. Bottle feeding her was a real task with her.. Now with Benny, he was from a good breeder, I was never bit by him, he was very patient for his bottle and much more friendlier.
If you buy a cub from an auction, make sure you meet the breeder before bidding on him/her.
Generally, you can tell by the size of a cub if it had human contact.. The cubs from the bad breeder are generally smaller.. The good breeder cubs are bigger and fatter... Bear cubs are almost always born in January. They should be bought at a young age, of about 2-4 months old.

Bottle Feeding bear cubs
A multi-purpose powder milk replacement with at least 25%fat or higher A local feed store should have this. I bought this at Agway.... DO NOT FEED A CUB WHOLE MILK.. THIS IS NOT ENOUGH FAT CONTENT. A regulator baby bottle can be used to feed a bear cub.. They seem fine on this bottle. As they get older, you should have all the bottles ready at the same time.. Generally, the most they will drink at one feeding is three bottles. The milk should be luke warm.. Test it on your wrist as you would a regular baby's bottle..
The bottle can be heated in a microwave.. but, be very sure it is not too hot.. If the cub is a bit resistant to drinking the milk, add a little honey or syrup in the milk. The nipple might need to be open a little more than for a baby.. If the cub is not getting the milk fast enough, he/she could get frustrated.. But, don't make the hole too big otherwise, the cub can choke and/or throw some of it up. when the bear cub, gets use to drinking it's bottle, you can mix a little mashed potatoes or baby cereal in it's milk mixture.. This will help satisfy the cub. A bear cub will generally let you know when he is hungry and when he is full. On an average, they eat about every 3-5 hours. When you feed a bear cub, feed him/her almost like you would a baby, on it's back, but keep him elevated up. the cub will then wrap his paws around your arm.. but, the claws, are sharp.. They don't mean to scratch on purpose, this is just a normal reaction for them while they are eating.. A pair of welding gloves will help eliminate the scratches. (Although, we did not use them)

Claws or De-clawed

Bear cub claws are very sharp. One reason for de-clawing is when bottle feeding them they do scratch and bite. When Sybil and Benny were about three months old, I had their claws removed and their baby canines removed. (the second canines will grow back) With the claws, it made it very difficult to feed them.. Sybil was more aggressive than Benny was.. I believe this was due to the way they were pulled from their mother.. However, they did not scratch for defense, when bottle feeding, they wrap their front paws around my arm, where the claws would dig into my arm.. (didn't feel very pleasant) Their claws are not retractable like cat's claws..

If you are considering have a bear cub de-clawed, this should be done at a very young age.
Any cub past four months old, is much harder on the cub and is more expensive to have done.

The other reason I had them de-clawed, is for the safety of the dogs and the safety of the cub.. With claws they can climb tree's.. without claws, it is obvious they can't climb.. I did not want to take any chance of Sybil and Benny climbing tree's where they could possibly escape or fall out of a tree. This has happened to wild and domestic bears. Some people think this is cruel and unnatural.. I personally look at it as a safety feature for the bear, dogs and people.. Even though a bears claws will dull a little as they mature. Sybil and Benny did not have any problem at all adjusting to not having claws.. In fact, by the next day after their surgery, they were fine, as though nothing ever happened..

Wild bears obviously need their claws to hunt food and for defense.. Captive born bears don't have to worry about hunting foods or predators..

A domestic black bear should NEVER be released back into the wild. Unwanted bears should be placed in a rehab center or sold to someone that will care for it. It would be almost impossible for a de-clawed bear to survive in the wild..

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When and How to Bottle break a bear cub

Most bear cubs are born in January or February.. In the wild, they generally quit nursing from their mothers around September.. In captivity, usually around August or September..
This is something that needs be done a little at time. It helps if the cub is eating food before bottle breaking.. The first thing we did was start putting milk in a bowl.. They will start drinking a little bit..
But, they still want the bottle....This needs to be done a little each day.. Then I would start cutting back on the bottles.. I would Try to get them to eat more food.. Sometimes they would go without a bottle for a day or two, but, I would give into them and give them a bottle..It took about two to three weeks to completely bottle break them..
Sybil was much harder to break than Benny.. Benny was eating more food, than Sybil was at 7 months.. Sybil was also much more aggressive than Benny at that age, It was more difficult with Sybil..

What do Domestic bears eat?
Sybil and Benny get fed twice a day..There is a bread store up the street from us, so I will buy their outdated bread and snacks.. I usually get a truck load for about $10.00.. This will last for months. I have found that Sybil and Benny will get tired of the same foods everyday.. So I try to give them a few different foods every couple days... Sybil and Benny also love ice cream.. We get left over ice cream from a friend that owns a ice cream store.. When he cleans out the ice cream machines, he saves it for our bears.. During hibernation, their food intake is cut in half. They do not eat much during hibernation.. I don't want to feed them much either, because they are less active.. They love oil.. I will put oil over some of their food. They don't really prefer to eat meat.. I don't give them meat. I don't want them to start liking it.. The following is some of the foods they will eat.
Snacks and other foods				FRUITS				Mixed with food
Bread	Dog Food	Hard Candy	Peanuts	Apples	Cantaloupe	Grapes	Watermelon	Honey	Peanut Butter
Donuts	Honey Buns	ice Cream	Raisons	Blueberries	Corn on the cob	lettuce		Jelly	syrup
Chocolate cakes		licorice	Snack pies	Cherries	Grapefruit	Oranges		oil/butter	eggs

Housing for Bears

he first thing to check is with your state regulations.. Some states will have different regulations for fence and housing.. The bear (when old enough) generally before the end of his/her first summer. can go into their new pen.. They must have a house that they can feel secure in.. Straw is a must, especially in the hibernation months. Sybil and Benny's house is a barn that was sectioned off. It is set up with two stories.. they have a latter that goes to the loft (their den) which they seem to prefer. But, they also have an opening from the loft where they can go outside to their porch with steps. The lower part of their den, they also have another door to go outside. but, their is a separate room, where they are fed.. So, basically, they have three different rooms... I also put toys in their den for them.
They generally played with them when they were younger.. They don't seem to bother too much now.

The house should be made of heavy wood, It wouldn't hurt to have fence on the
outside of their house.. As bears get older, they get stronger.. Eventually, they could break through thin walls. T1-11 wood be a good material to use for housing. The thicker, the better.. The fence should be constructed with chain link. You should not use anything thinner. As I said, the older they get, the stronger they get. with cattle fence or other similar, bears can break through this. The bottom fence should be cemented in. Otherwise, you stand a chance of them working the bottom of the fence and escaping.. With claws, you stand a greater chance of this happening.

The size of the fence should be as big as you can possibly make it.. However, the first two years, you should be ok with a minimum of about a 30 X 25 pen. Bears get bored very easily. They need a lot of activity. When I got Benny, Sybil was a little more content. If you have a small pen, I definitely recommend increasing their pen size.. If at all possible, a pond would great or something big to put water in for them.. Sybil and Benny's pen currently is about 120ft X 80 ft. We are in the middle of increasing it to triple that size.

If your bear has claws, I would recommend a top on it. If a top cannot be put on, then make sure there is electric around the top so they don't escape. DO NOT use any netting type for the top.
This is dangerous, the bear could get caught in it.. If the bears don't have claws, a strand of electric at the top will be fine.. Chance are the bear can't climb to the top, but, it is best to be safe than sorry..

The height of the fence should be 10' for de-clawed bears and 12' for bears with claws. However, you will have to check with your state regulations for the pen requirement. Some states require you have a top on the pen..

Do Bears Really Sleep when they Hibernate?

If the weather is cold. Sybil and Benny do Hibernate.. But, a true hibernation does not mean they sleep the whole time.. They will get up a lot. We still feed them, but not as much as we do in the summer...They generally get up to eat or play a little.. but, they seem to prefer to stay in their den.. They are supplied with plenty of straw. They did make themselves a very big nest with the straw.
Click here for more information and pictures of Sybil and Benny in Hibernations.
However. I believe the weather is a factor in this..Generally, a captive bear cub will not always hibernate their first year.. Sybil did not hibernate her first year.

Are Black Bears Vicious ?

No, black bears are really not vicious. Captive-born bears can get aggressive. but, they are not killers.. Adult Black Bears are very strong and they could bite where the bite would be more serious than when they were cubs... The worse time for black bears moods is breeding season, which is generally June, July and sometimes into August and September.. A female will generally mature at 3 years old. A male about 4 years old.. but, for the male, they could mature younger, depending on their size and food intake.

It is possible that having one bear during breeding season, could make the chance greater of them becoming more aggressive.

Black bears in the wild, are only looking for food.. Most wild black bears are afraid of people. However, a hungry black bear could get a little aggressive. Most black bears fear loud noises. so if you are ever confronted by a black bear, making loud noises would most likely scare him/her away.

A great site to look at for Bears in the wild is http://bear.org/homepage.html

Is it hard to raise a black bear?

YES, it can be. It takes a lot of planning, understanding their proper care and needs.
Black bears are NOT like raising a dog. You can't expect to buy a bear cub and attempt to raise it like you would a dog... It takes a lot of patience and time to care for a cub..
Remember, they will grow large and very strong and power you.
Never hit a bear, they don't understand this type of correction.
When they are full grown, sometimes certain noises can startle them.
They can be unpredictable.

The best time to get a cub is when he/she is only a few months old.. You will need to bottle feed the cub. We used a baby bottle for Sybil and Benny.. The milk has to be a high fat content in it, at least 25%.. They could bite . but, in time. The cub will get use to you and understand not to bite if it does bite.. It takes time..
With Sybil, she was pretty aggressive when she was a few months old.. When she was finished drinking her first bottle, we had to make sure we had her second and third bottle ready or she would bite..
Now with Benny, he was not as bad.. he was more patient than Sybil was.

Overall, bear cubs are a lot of work, but once they are weaned and put in their pen, it is not as much work and cleanup.. but, they still need to have human contact as much as possible.. They generally like people and like to be around people, but, there is still a chance an adult bear can get aggressive. You should be on guard at all times when you are with domestic bears..

One very important factor in raising a bear cub is NEVER WRESTLE OR ROUGH HOUSE with your cub. He/She will think that is ok when they get full grown.

Also, as the cub grows up, never, never let him/her stand when you are around them.
Do NOT encourage them at all to stand.. if you are on the outside of their pen, do not feed them or encourage them to stand.. if they already do this. Feed them their favorite treats, but only when they are sitting or on all fours.. When feeding them on the outside of the fence sit down to feed them so they won't stand. basically keep them more a eye level.
There are many people that cannot go into their bears pen because they wrestled or let them stand.. Again, Black bears are very strong animals and you don't want them standing when you are in the pen with them..

If you have more questions, please join Sybil's Message board. There is lots of information from members and Me. Also when you sign up, you can post and you will see all the pictures that are posted there.. http://sybilsden.com/bb/

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