Mother Bear Killed, Cubs Stolen
One bear was illegally killed and her two cubs were taken. Now the Department of Natural Resources is trying to find out who's behind the crime. It all happened in Georgia. Several weeks ago, forresters had noticed that a mother bear had given birth to two cubs, and the family was living in a den close to Buck Creek Road in Murray County. Then, on March 3rd, they found the mother's dead body, but both her babies were gone. Now, officers appalled by the act want your help to figure out who's responsible.
Department of Natural Resources Corporal Casey Jones showed us where the mothe bear was killed. "This is where she was laying when we found her, you can still see some hair left."
Jones say she was inside her den, laying next to and protecting her two newborn cubs. Their home was in a remote area of a Murray County national forrest. It's where Jones says someone shot the 150 pound mother bear several times, killing her. "There's no excuse for this, based on the scene, it looks like it was intentional."
Jones says they found the mother's body on March 3rd, but her two babies were gone. "It's very serious, it's a pretty malicious crime"
But less than a week later, good news came from veterarian Dr. William Mitchell. He explains, "A young man came in in with 2 bear cubs and he gave them to my receptionist and said I had no part in this.""
Both 2 pound, month old cubs had been anonimously dropped off at Mitchell's animal clinic in McCaysville. "They were not dehydrated, they were in pretty good shape."
As Mitchell's wife fed the baby bears, he called wildlife officials, who came and took both cubs to a rehab center. But Mitchell says it's all simply inhumane. "This whole thing is a mess it really bothers me, first of all that it happened and someone would be cruel enough to kill a mother then it bothers me that they would abandon babies."
As Jones tries to track down whoever is responsible for killing one bear and taking two others, Mitchell worries about the little cubs. "It's a creature, one of God's creatures, and they deserve better."
Jones says the person behind this could face many serious charges, including hunting out of season.
As for the abandoned cubs, officers believe they are same ones stolen from the den, but say they will do DNA testing to be sure.
