Sarvey Wildlife Center

The Girls
by Sandy Dahl

The Girls by Sandy Dahl It was early one winter morning when I arrived at Sarvey Wildlife Center to have my weekly animal experience and help out. This day there was a big mobile cage there. Peeking in, my eyes were slow to adjust to the darkness. I had never seen the trailer there before and there was something in it. I saw nothing in front of me and then I looked up. Sitting on top of a wooden box was a black bear watching me. Our eyes met and my heart was racing, she was less than three feet away from me. I realized she wasn't going to be vicious and welcomed her with a soothing voice. After a few minutes of visiting, out of the box popped a head, another bear! This one was more timid than the box sitter. I could see it in her eyes that she was more of a worrier than her friend and it was a big effort for her to take a peak at me. I had to hurry inside and get the story on these two new guests. They were female black bears named Corky and Pumpkin who had been living a rough and awful life before coming to Sarvey. Their natural lives and happiness had been disregarded for a long time. They were around six years old and had been raised in captivity being used as decoys for drug runners. They rode back and forth from Canada to the U.S. in a trailer with drugs stored under it. They were caught at the Washington boarder, the human arrested, and the girls came to us. The bears that usually come into Sarvey are wild and need to be cautious of humans so the interaction needs to be kept minimal. Corky and Pumpkin could never be released so this was the perfect opportunity to experience a bear's personality without risking their safety. I brought them out some grapes after I was filled in. Corky was the one on the box and gladly came down and took the grapes. Pumpkin was the shy one in the box and didn't want to come out of her safety zone yet, so I tossed them to her. She cautiously watched me and ate them. I giggled listening to them smack their lips and enjoy the treat. It was hard that day to do my work, I wanted to sit with them and let them know it was going to be alright. I could see the fear and confusion in their eyes. When I came the following week, they were moved into the bear pens outside at the center. I picked them up some shelled walnuts and dried apricots and hurried out to say my good mornings to everyone and spend a few minutes with the new girls and Sasha the cougar. I went to the cage and Corky was making a whiny sound and kept on looking over to the far end of the cage. Pumpkin was in the box peeking out. I gave Corky a walnut and then an apricot. After tossing them in the cage, I tried handing one to her she loved it and took it right from my fingers using her lips so gingerly. It was interesting how the inside of her lips had small bumps on it to help her hang on to her food. Pumpkin wouldn't come out, she just watched so I threw her over some treats. She watched me closely the whole time she ate her goodies, still not sure about anything. Corky was still whining and pacing around. I watched her and noticed that every time she looked at the other end of the cage was when she would whine. I then saw the reason and had to laugh. Sasha the resident cougar was watching them. Being the curious cat that she was, she was able to go to the back of her cage and get a peek at the bears. She wasn't being mean spirited at all, she just wanted to see what was going on. This made them uncomfortable, they had probably never seen a cougar before and it scared them. I covered the peeking spot and Corky calmed down. That was the moment I had her trust and she knew I knew things. As the weeks went on Pumpkin's personality was starting to come out. She was conservative and very worried about things. She approached anything new very slowly. I knew their lives had been cruelly sheltered so almost everything was new to them. It was good to see her come out of her box and play with Corky, you could tell they needed each other. I would try my hardest to gain her trust and show her any comfort I could. Corky was the bold one. She trusted me to touch her. She liked getting her back scratched and would let me feel her claws and feet. This was one of the most powerful beings I had ever met. She was gentle and had a funny personality, she actually teased me and Pumpkin too. I felt that she knew everything was going to be alright and she was happy with her new surroundings. Over the months, the routine was a quick hello in the morning and then when I was finished with my day, I would go out and sit with them. I saved the treats for that time and sat at the back side of the cage by the woods. It seemed that they had never been out in the open before being able to look at the trees. It was nice having them enjoy as many bear things as possible. They would come up to the log, sit down and eat treats, using the log as a table and sitting the way a person would. It was like a bear tea party and it tickled me everytime. I could tell they both enjoyed it. Pumpkin was comfortable with me now and Corky was always relaxed. We went through that summer bringing them blocks of ice and keeping their water tub full. It seemed like having a big water tub was a new thing for them. As soon as it was filled, one of them had to go and sit in it and play like it was their first time in. It was a favorite part of their day. They showed their strength when they would pick up the edge of the tub or a log and move it like it was nothing. I loved watching them. Feeding time was always fun. Their diet was turkey before coming to Sarvey. Black bears are more fruit and grub eaters and salmon would be the protien of choice, along with nuts. They were over weight at first so we had to make sure they went on a diet. They loved eggs and grapes, this was always the first thing they dug for in their mound of food. We kept it interesting by putting it in logs and keeping them as busy as possible. Corky loved her food alot. If those two had conflict, it was over food. We kept our eyes on her to make sure she was letting Pumpkin get her share. During their time with us, the hunt was on for the perfect bear home. They could never be wild bears because of captivity so a safe haven had to be found. It was important that they stay together for the rest of their days. Phone calls were made and so much effort was put out by Sarvey searching the United States. Then the time came. An animal sanctuary in Texas would take them and keep them together. This was wonderful news. The girls would have acres to roam. This would be a first for them. It was sad and exciting getting them ready for their journey to Texas. We knew they would be well kept and their health was where it should be. Saying goodbye was sad, they were loaded up and had their goody bags of food sent with the carriers. It was a long journey for them. Once they arrived in Texas, and after the usual health precautions were finished, they had the run of freedom for the first time. From what I hear, they are so happy and are the queen keepers of the water hole. They must truly love it there. We miss them at Sarvey and are thankful that we got to know and learn about such wonderful souls. Sandy Dahl