Black Bear Rescue Manitoba is located in the rural municipality of Rockwood.
They take in the province's orphaned or injured black bear cubs. It's the province's first and only bear rescue. If you ever spot an injured cub or one that appears to be orphaned, you should call the TIP line 24/7 at 1-800-782-0076.
From there, Natural Resources staff will locate the cub, catch it, and bring it to Judy Stearns and her staff at Black Bear Rescue Manitoba. When Judy and her husband first opened, they had four cubs. They've had as many as 32 at one time.
2026 has turned into a busy year with 14 bears currently in their care. Of the 14, three are yearlings that arrived last year and are to be released into the wild soon. The remaining are cubs that were born in January and will spend the next several months under the care of Judy and her team.
"We didn't know that we would be so needed when we started. We didn't know there would be so many injured or orphaned cubs," said Stearns. "We've raised well over 100 bears and released them to the wild. It's turned into a very busy enterprise. We can see it's a service that the province really needs for these cubs."
Earlier this month, Natural Resources delivered two orphaned cubs from the Dauphin Area to Judy and her team. Named the "D" cubs, they were alone in the wild for more than a week. Cubs at that age are very rarely able to survive. They usually get killed by a predator or a lack of a food source. Both cubs had more than 100 ticks on them when they arrived at Black Bear Rescue. Judy says they wouldn't have had much time left if they weren't rescued.
While in their care, Judy's team will help get the cubs as large, fat, and robust as possible so they can be returned to the wild. This comes with as minimal human contact as possible, so the cubs don't become friendly towards humans.
Black Bear Rescue provides them shelter, food, and lets them behave as bears all summer. This will allow them to thrive down the line. They swim in pools, climb trees, wrestle, and play with the other cubs. When the cubs first arrived, the staff fed them every two hours because of how thin they were.
Now, the staff feeds them every six to seven hours. They've been introduced to a small amount of dog kibble. They also eat blueberries, grown on the property. They're also fed grass and dandelions.
Judy says the cubs are still very shy. Just like humans, every cub has its own different personality. The boy in this case is more shy than the girl.
"They're taking a little longer to settle in because they were on their own for that week. They were very run down and covered in ticks," Stearns added. "But, they're doing well. They're doing well. We're confident that they're going to be released in the fall as big and healthy bears."
Judy anticipates releasing the 'D' cubs into the wild in late October or November. This can change depending on the weather.
In the past eight-plus years since opening in April of 2018, Judy has been the direct reason that more than 100 cubs have had a chance at a long life. To see them go once they've been rehabilitated at her facility brings in a mix of emotions. Each cub costs roughly $2,000 to take care of, plus thousands and thousands of hours over the years, but she wouldn't change a thing.
"It's always very bittersweet, at least for me anyway, as an animal lover," ended Stearns. "I worry about them when we let them go. It's a dangerous world out there, more and more for wildlife and bears. We don't want them to live a life in captivity. It's bittersweet. I worry about them, but I'm glad that we successfully raised that particular bear as we see them running off."
Black Bear Rescue Manitoba is volunteer-driven. They're a registered charity and receive no money from the government. They're 100 percent public-donation operated. For Judy, there is no bigger reward in life than seeing a cub released after being under her and her team's care.
She also thanks everyone who has donated in the past and continues to do so. If you have the means, you can do so right here. 100% of your donation will be allocated towards caring for the bears and operating the facility.
