A black bear cub that was rescued near Kamloops on World Bear Day has met a sad end.
The cub, named Jelly, was found near Heffley Lake in late March and transported by various caretakers to the Northern Lights Wildlife Society (NLWS) shelter in Smithers.
On May 24, the shelter shared some heavy news about the cub.
“It is with immense sadness that we have to share the loss of our bear cub Jelly,” they wrote in a Facebook post. “Our team is extremely affected by this loss, and we ask for your understanding as we all mourn this loss.”
Angelika Langen, executive director with the society, said human error enabled Jelly to escape.
They discovered he was missing the Saturday before they made the online announcement, which was May 16.
“We have been searching for him ever since, and he just vanished without a trace,” she said on May 25.
She noted that they have a resident black bear male, a pair of eagles, and an active coyote group living at the shelter.
“Because there has been absolutely no sign — we’re still hoping — but we’re thinking that he got predated on,” Langen said.
“Human error happens… It’s just an unfortunate circumstance.”
New cubs from the Barriere area
The sad news about Jelly came hand-in-hand with news of a fresh rescue operation, this time regarding three bear cubs from the Barriere area.
The cubs had lost their mother due to a hunting incident.
“Accidentally, a sow was shot when it was supposed to be a boar,” Langen said.
“In this case, he thought he had a boar, he watched for quite some time, and shot the bear and then realized it was a lactating female, looked around and found the three cubs.”
She explained the hunter realized his mistake and reported it to conservation officers, who then called NLWS.
Langen said they’re always grateful for responsible people, and that not all hunters report such incidents.
“I think it’s great for somebody to come forward and to say I made a mistake and I tried to minimize what happened, and we’re really grateful that he did so,” she said. “He was immensely helpful in capturing the cubs and making sure that they would be okay.”
The rescue was still in the midst of taking place on May 25 when the Clearwater Times spoke with Langen about what happened to Jelly. The cubs arrived at the shelter on May 26.
“We’re just excited that a sad situation was set right as much as it was able to be set right, and that these three little ones get a chance, because the person was responsible,” Langen said.
READ MORE: Baby bear cub rescued from Heffley Lake on World Bear Day
READ MORE: ‘Happy little guy’: Bear cub rescued near Kamloops named Jelly