5 black bears at Wild and Free go back into the wild

GARRISON — It was the bears who were caught in bed sleeping Thursday, April 20, at Wild and Free when the Minnesota DNR came knocking on their door.

The five black bears spent a year at Wild and Free in Garrison and were ready to be released back into the wild, said Ashley King, Wild and Free administrative assistant and volunteer coordinator. The bears were brought to Wild and Free after being orphaned.

“They've been awake for about two and a half weeks now,” said King. “Usually as soon as we see them show any sign of activity in the late winter, early spring, we let the DNR know and they come down.”

The DNR regularly examines and monitors bears brought to Wild and Free. This year, they were running a few weeks behind their usual schedule because of the weather, King added.

One of the volunteers helping to move the bears was Denny King, Ashley King’s father, who said he always knew his daughter would be working with animals.

1/2: Ashley King, Wild and Free administrative assistant and volunteer coordinator, feeds her brown bats Thursday, April 20, 2023, before getting ready to work with the black bears.

2/2: Ashley King, Wild and Free administrative assistant and volunteer coordinator, feeds her brown bats Thursday, April 20, 2023, before getting ready to work with the black bears.

“She loves them all,” Denny King said as he talked about how he watched his daughter successfully give mouth-to-snout resuscitation to a mouse who had aspirated on his food.

“You do whatever you can to save a life,” Ashley King said.

Wild and Free was started in Anoka County in 1985 and moved behind the Garrison Animal Hospital in 1990 before being able to purchase land in Garrison in 2004, said Deb Eskadahl, founder of Wild and Free.

Working on monitoring the reproductive cycles of black bears in Minnesota was Andy Tri, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources bear project lead. Tri said the DNR noticed bears around central Minnesota are taking up to a whole year longer before they have their first litter of cubs.

1/10: Ashley King, staff member at Wild and Free, along with Minnesota DNR Lead Bear Specialist Andy Tri examine two sedated bears at the wildlife rehabilitation facility before releasing the bears into the wild. The black bears came to the facility a year ago after being orphaned.

2/10: Ashley King, staff member at Wild and Free and Lead bear specialist with the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources Andy Tri examine a female black bear Thursday, April 20, 2023, at Wild and Free in Garrison. The bear was medically checked and released into the wild today.

3/10: Minnesota DNR Lead Bear specialist Andy Tri attaches and ear tag to black bear Thursday, April 20, 2023, at Wild and Free in Garrison. The bears came to the wildlife rehabilitation facility a year ago as orphans and now will be released into the wild after a medical check.

4/10: Lead Minnesota Bear Specialist Andy Tri removes an ear tag from a black bear's ear, Thursday, April 20, 2023, at Wild and Free in Garrison. Five orphan bears were medically processed and relocated to wild ares today by the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources.

5/10: Wild and Free staff member Ashley King left, and Minnesota DNR Lead Bear Specialist Andy Tri work with a female bear at the wildlife rehabilitation program Thursday, April 20, 2023, as five black bear bears were medically processed and relocated to wild areas. The bears were orphans and have been at Wild and Free for a year.

6/10: A GPS collar is fitted for a one year-old female bear from Wild and Free in Garrison, Thursday, April 20, 2023, that came to the wildlife facility as an orphan last year. The bear along with four others will be released in wild areas.

7/10: Wild and Free staff member Ashley King along with her dad Denny, who is a volunteer, move a sedated black bear to a truck Thursday, April 20, 2023, in Garrison. Five bears were processed medically and relocated to wild areas.

8/10: Ashley King, Wild and Free administrative assistant and volunteer coordinator, feeds her brown bats Thursday, April 20, 2023, before getting ready to work with the black bears.

9/10: Ashley King, Wild and Free administrative assistant and volunteer coordinator, feeds her brown bats Thursday, April 20, 2023, before getting ready to work with the black bears.

10/10: Andy Tri, left, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources bear project lead, Ashley King, Wild and Free administrative assistant and volunteer coordinator, and Denny King work on a black bear Thursday, April 20, 2023, at Wild and Free in Garrison.

After the bears were anesthetized, Ashley King and Tri began collecting data on the bears. Working with a group of volunteers, the three males were weighed and sampled before being tagged.

The two females received a more thorough treatment, with more measurements to better track and understand the delay in the reproduction cycle in the area. The females were fitted with a GPS telemetry collar to track their movements throughout the year.

When a bear is fitted with a collar, the DNR visits them once a year during hibernation to adjust the collars and collect further data, Tri said. For this study, after they have their first litter, their collars are removed.

TIM SPEIER, staff writer, can be reached on Twitter @timmy2thyme , call 218-855-5859 or email tim.speier@brainerddispatch.com .