A 168-pound American black bear rushed out of the open end of the opening cage and ran away from it into the woods off a logging road. His sister, weighing in at 135 pounds, took a little more time to overcome her fear and confusion before she, too, ran for the trees and away from the humans who had driven more than 100 miles to witness the bears' return to the wild.
The baby bears were the 106th and 107th orphaned（孤儿的）or injured bears to be raised or treated at the Progressive Animal Welfare Society(PAWS)Wildlife Center in Washington state, then released more than a year later in the same general area where they were originally found.
They were only two weeks old when a forest worker and his dog accidentally disturbed their den（兽穴）in February 2020, scaring away their mother. She never returned. The worker got in touch with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife(WDFW), which for years has partnered with PAWS to return sick, injured and orphaned wild animals to a good condition before releasing them back into their natural habitats. In any given year, PAWS staff cares for 150 to 175 species.
"Their eyes and ears weren't open, and their teeth hadn't even erupted, "Jennifer Convy, PAWS senior director of wildlife, said of the baby bears, which each weighed less than 2 pounds when they arrived and were the youngest ever to be raised at the center.
After more than a year, the two bears returned to the wild. "Not a lot of agencies have the funding to do this kind of work. We hope to leave the state of Washington with better bear management than when we arrived, "said Rich Beausoleil, WDFW biologist. "We've found our public here in Washington appreciate that we go the extra miles and give these orphaned bears a second shot at life. "
