What should you do if you find a black bear cub in the wilderness? The government of Alberta, Canada, which has a solid population of 40,000 black bears, has shared the newest guidelines for handling a black bear in the wilderness. “If you find a bear cub alone, do not interfere with it. Doing so can be detrimental to the bear’s wellbeing, and can place you at high risk if its mother is nearby. Although black bear cubs normally remain with their mothers for up to 17 months, they are self-sufficient at five months.”

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So why do these beautiful creatures become orphaned? It happens for a couple of reasons: “the mother abandons her cub(s) due to her inability to produce milk; there’s fire or drought; humans disturb the den sites.” A black bear can also become parentless if its mother is killed by a vehicle, after a conflict with people, or after encountering a hunter.