Five orphaned bear cubs have new homes on Pikes Peak

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- Five orphaned bear cubs are in their new dens on Pikes Peak thanks to Colorado Parks and Wildlife.

CPW Southeast Region officers in Colorado Springs spent the day transferring the cubs from the Wet Mountain Wildlife Rehabilitation center in Wetmore.

CPW officers built two dens last week in remote spots on the snowy slopes of Pikes Peak. Ensuring that when the cubs wake up, they'll be far away from humans.

The five orphaned cubs have been living at the rehabilitation center since last summer. From now until spring, the cubs will hibernate in artificial dens before waking up and going back into the wild.

The transferring process required several steps for the safety of officers and the cubs. The bears were first tranquilized, weighed, and then loaded into a trap.

Once at their new home in the Pikes Peak area, the cubs were muzzled and blindfolded, and hobbles were put on them to help make the move a little easier.

CPW Officer Phil Gurule explained that while the cubs were tranquilized, they were still aware of what was happening. The restraints were to ensure the bears wouldn't get spooked and run off into the wild.

After a sled ride, the sleeping bear cubs arrived at their den. The bear cubs were split up and placed inside the two dens. CPW says the cubs never woke up during the transfer and were obviously to what was happening.

Once inside, CPW Officer Tim Kroening gave each cub a drug to revive them from the tranquilizer and removed their restraints. Officers then sealed each den door with hay

The hope is for the cubs to remain inside the dens until spring. CPW says bears don't truly hibernate, instead, they enter a state of physical and mental inactivity called torpor. Which allows them to wake up, find food, and go back to sleep in their dens.

Thanks to CPW the orphaned cubs now have a second chance at life in the wild.