WETMORE — Five bears that have been at a wildlife rehabilitation center for the last six months are being taken to Pikes Peak Wednesday to spend the rest of winter in dens Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers built.
CPW officers are transporting these bears from Wet Mountain Wildlife Rehabilitation Center near Wetmore.
Flach as officer Sarah Watson darts a Cub hanging from a fence at Wet Mountain Wildlife wildlife Rehabilitation in Wetmore. 5 cubs will be taken up on Pikes Peak today and placed in artificial dens where they will hibernate until Spring, wake up & get a 2nd chance at living wild. pic.twitter.com/lJfJ8op6pw
— CPW SE Region (@CPW_SE) January 27, 2021
Tom and Cecelia Sanders, who have been running the rehabilitation center for nearly 35 years, care for and give second chances to fawns, bobcats, mountain lions, bears, and more.
"It's just something that's engraved in us," Ceceliatold News5 in Sept. 2020. "I can't imagine not doing this, I really can't."
CPW said the five bears being taken to Pikes Peak will be in the dens officers built to hibernate until spring. Officers weighed the bears and loaded them just before 9 a.m.
Sleeping bears about to be taken to their new home in dens built by @COParksWildlife officers on Pikes Peak. pic.twitter.com/RzFmW36AaZ
— CPW SE Region (@CPW_SE) January 27, 2021
The rehab facility is one of only a handful inside the state of Colorado that has the capabilities to care for larger wildlife. The entire operation is supported by donations, while the on-site work is performed exclusively by the Sanders to keep the animals' interaction with humans down to the bare minimum.
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