The orphaned black bear cub rescued from a wildfire in Wythe County a year ago was last seen running into the woods, one of three bear yearlings recently released back into the wild, according to the Wildlife Center of Virginia.
The bear, who was cared for by the center in Waynesboro since its rescue in March 2024, was released April 2 by a team with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
Known at the center as Double Green for the identifying tags in his ears, he was the largest and the most dominant of the seven bears who arrived at at the center last year. One center official said in January that he “runs the whole show” when it came to the bears at the center.
When released, he weighed a “whopping” 176 pounds, according to Amanda Nicholson, the center’s senior vice president.
“That’s much larger than the average yearling, but since he was our first cub of 2024 and with us since last March, he’s never missed a meal since then so has grown very large in his year+ with us. The veterinary team were able to dart and sedate him for an examination; he looks great,” she said in an email.
He was an infant, 6 to 8 weeks old, and weighed just 5.5 pounds when he was admitted to the center on March 15, 2024.
He’d been rescued a day earlier, when someone who was burning brush in the Piney community lost control of the blaze, which eventually grew to nearly 300 acres.
As the fire spread, the cub’s mother was seen running away by residents, who told fire officials that she might have left a cub or cubs behind.
The cub was rescued by Matt Hankins, the assistant county administrator, who carried him “like a baby” out of danger after he and several young firefighters heard him yelping. He was found about 2 feet from where the fire had burned.
The cub was picked up later that night by a district wildlife biologist with the state, who kept him overnight and delivered him to the wildlife center the next day.
The bear was not injured, but staff at the center were initially worried about the smoke he’d inhaled. After a short stint in the intensive care unit, the little bear flourished.
He was the first bear of the year at the center, and he was bottle-fed before moving onto solid food. There were seven bears in the 2024 group; throughout their stay, contact with humans was limited.
After more than a year at the center, it was time for them to return to the wild. On the afternoon of April 1, the center’s rehabilitation team baited three traps in the transition area of the black bear complex with grapes, nuts and vanilla scent, then set the traps.
The bears were interested and moved in to investigate. By 6 p.m., Double Green and two other bears were trapped.
It took several doses of anesthesia to sedate Double Green, but once he was down, he was given an exam, including bloodwork and skin scrapes, and he was marked with new, permanent ear tags. All three bears were found to be healthy and were approved for release.
Double Green was successfully released in a remote habitat. The release sites — which weren’t publicly disclosed — were chosen based on food abundance, habitat and remoteness from humans. The releases were handled by biologists with the state wildlife department because they can access more remote areas where there are few people, according to the wildlife center.
The four yearling bears who are still at the center will be released next week, the center said on its Facebook page.
Hankins, who has followed the bear’s journey since the rescue, said Monday he’s glad there was a happy conclusion.
“It’s hard to believe that the little sooty five-pound cub I picked up from the edge of the forest fire is now off to be the king of his section of the woods,” Hankins said by email. “I’m glad the Wildlife Center’s efforts were so successful and that he got the outcome he needed. While I selfishly would have liked to have been there for the release, I’m glad it went so well and that the center kept the public informed. I hope it leads to more financial support for the good work they do.”
How to help
To donate to the nonprofit Wildlife Center of Virginia, visit https://support.wildlifecenter.org/give/434546/#!/donation/checkout.
Two weeks after the rescue, Hankins, other county officials and the Ivanhoe Volunteer Fire Department were recognized for their work by the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
At the nature center, it’s baby bear season again. Although the center had not had any admitted yet by Monday, the staff expects rescued bears to start arriving in the coming weeks, and the process to start over with the 2025 bears, Nicholson said.
Caring for young bears is expensive, she said. Each cub goes through $400 to $500 worth of formula the summer after they are admitted. The center gets donations of produce throughout the year but must buy additional supplies and specialized food like nuts and insects for the bears. In the fall, each bear eats as much as 140 pounds of food per week, she added.
The wildlife center was founded in 1982 to provide medical care, often on an emergency basis, to native wildlife. Over the years, the nonprofit teaching and research hospital has treated more than 100,000 wild animal patients.
