A farmer from southeastern Manitoba received quite the surprise earlier this month, while harvesting his corn crop.

The farmer, whose location is not being made public, spotted a mother bear pop her head out of the snow and then run off. Thinking that was odd, the farmer decided to investigate and found two bear cubs, only about a day old, weighing about half a pound each. The mother bear did not return and the farmer contacted Black Bear Rescue Manitoba of Stonewall.

(Photo credit: Black Bear Rescue Manitoba)"We consulted with various experts that we work with and everybody said the same thing," says spokesperson Julie Woodyer. "The best chance is to recover the cubs and put them in the rehab. Frequently the mothers just don't come back and even if they left them there and gave her an opportunity for that, they would likely freeze to death before she got a chance to come back."

Woodyer says taking care of the brother bears is an onerous task. Their primary caregivers must feed the animals every few hours, around the clock. And, she explains feeding can take about 45 minutes each time. Woodyer says they must ensure the bears do not get too much milk or not enough milk. They also must massage the little bears, in order to help them urinate and defecate.

"Mother would normally lick them in order to make that happen," she says.

Then, on top of that, is all of the cleanup and assessing the situation, while making adjustments to their diet, where necessary. Woodyer says it is like caring for a newborn child.

According to Woodyer, the two cubs collectively weighed only one pound when they arrived. She notes they have gained quite a bit of weight since then. Woodyer says they will be kept at the centre in Stonewall until late fall, when they will be released into the wild just before hibernation.

Meanwhile, Woodyer explains not all bears dig dens for hibernation. Sometimes, as was the case here, they will hibernate just beneath the snow, in the middle of a corn field.

"The farmer is not to blame," assures Woodyer. "He couldn't have possibly known and he took tremendous care once he realized what had happened."

Woodyer says the key message she wants to relay to the public is that if you are doing any work, involving heavy equipment, in areas already covered with snow, take some time to look around to see if there is anything unusual. And, if you happen to spot an orphaned cub, contact Black Bear Rescue Manitoba before interacting with the animal as they can help decide what might be in the best interest of the animal.