REED CITY, Mich. (AP) - Three Michigan bear cubs have a new mom thanks to state wildlife officials and some cold ointment.
The young bears’ mother was hit by a car Saturday in northern Lower Michigan’s Lake County.
After coaxing the cubs out of a tree with help from two local tree service professionals, state Department of Natural Resources staffers set about finding a surrogate sow.
They did so, then covered the orphaned black bear cubs with Vicks VapoRub, which masked the scent carried by the cubs.
The DNR’s Katie Keen tells MLive.com the surrogate mom found the cubs “covered with something gooey so she starts licking them.”
WPBN-WTOM reports the bears soon carried her scent, and she took them under her care.
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