Tiny, Stubborn Idaho Bear Cub Makes 120-Mile Trek To Gorge On Apples

Wyoming bears could learn a thing or two about tenacity from a tiny Idaho black bear cub that trekked 120 miles through some of the most remote and rugged country in the Lower 48, just to gobble some backyard apples.

The cub was first reported in Hailey, Idaho, on the weekend of Oct. 19-20. It was found lounging in an apple tree by Idaho Fish and Game agents on Oct. 21.

It had a green Idaho Fish and Game ear tag, indicating that it had previously been captured in another part of the state.

“When we got there and saw the ear tag (on the cub), we were surprised, because we haven’t tagged any bears this year in this region,” Fish and Game Magic Valley Region communications manager Terry Thompson told Cowboy State Daily.

The cub’s ear tag revealed that it had already been trapped and relocated Oct. 3 in the Salmon, Idaho region, well to the north.

“It’s a young-of-the-year cub. It’s tiny, at best, probably between 30-40 pounds,” Thompson said.

The distance the cub traveled to get to Hailey was roughly 120 miles, as the crow flies. But as the bear walks, it was much farther.

In about 17 days, the cub had crossed mountain ranges, rivers, streams, highways and county roads.

“Without that ear tag, we would have had no idea where that bear came from,” Thompson said.

“It’s almost a little hard to believe that a bear that small could cover that amount of country,” he said. “That’s a long way for little legs to go.”

Troubled Beginning

The cub was probably born in a den sometime in January, making it roughly 10 months old.

The cub, its mother and one sibling were getting into garbage, beehives and human-provided food sources in and around Carmen, Idaho, just north of Salmon.

Game and Fish agents there trapped and killed the female bear and one cub but surmised that the second cub might have a chance at rehabilitation.

So they trapped it, attached the green ear tag to it and set it loose in the remote Panther Creek area in the Salmon National Forest.

But at some point, the little bear decided to venture south, way south. The exact route it took to get to Hailey and what adventures it had along the way will never be known, Thompson said.

Back Into The Wild

Game agents are also unsure of the cub’s sex, he added.

It was live trapped, fully conscious, and “when we’re dealing with a trapped bear like that, we don’t get too personal with it,” he said.

The cub must know how to take care of itself, because it appeared to be robust and alert.

“This one seemed to be a healthy bear. It seemed to be at a healthy weight and in good body condition,” Thompson said.

Game and Fish transported the bold little cub east to the Pocatello, Idaho region, where it was released in a remote, mountainous area of the Caribou National Forest.

Under normal circumstances, the cub would have spent about another year with its mother. But despite being left on its own early, it has decent chances of survival.

“It’s not unheard of for a cub-of-the-year to know how to den for the winter, and that’s what we hope for,” Thompson said.

And unless the cub gets wanderlust again, it should do well in its new location.

“With any luck, we’ll never see this bear again,” Thompson said.

Mark Heinz can be reached at mark@cowboystatedaily.com.