Mamma bear, 4 cubs get new home in McKean County

The Pennsylvania Game Commission relocated a female bear and her four cubs spending the winter in a den located against a home in Galeton, Potter County.

The bear is believed to have hibernated in a den against the same house before, according to a report from the game commission on Wednesday. But, this year, the bear damaged the home’s exterior wall and the commission was tasked with moving the bear.

When Conservation officers checked on the den two weeks ago, they discovered four cubs that were only hours old, so they held off moving the bears until recently.

Game commission staff, along with deputy game wardens and Galeton Police safely immobilized and relocated the mother bear, which weighed an estimated 275 pounds, and her four healthy cubs to a den site in a remote area of McKean County.

The new den site will be monitored throughout the remainder of the winter.

“Black bears easily adapt to living close to people, and every year we hear of several examples where bears choose to hibernate under or against porches or homes,” the Game Commission said in a statement to its facebook page.

“These bears, like any other bear, pass the winter without incident, typically vacating the site before April. Rarely is intervention needed or in the bear’s best interest. However, in this case, a unique combination of circumstances required an exception and we hope the bears enjoy their new den.”

Mary Ann Thomas is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Mary Ann at 724-226-4691, mthomas@tribweb.com or via Twitter @MaThomas_Trib.