The founder of Bear With Us received recognition for the decades he has spent preparing orphaned or wounded bears for their return to the forest.<\/p>\n
SPRUCEDALE,\u00a0\u2014 A man who’s worked for over three decades on the rehabilitation of orphaned and injured black bears\u00a0has been recognized for his contributions to animal welfare.<\/p>\n
Mike McIntosh of the Bear With Us<\/a> Sanctuary\u00a0and Rehabilitation Centre for Bears received\u00a0the Wildlife Rehabber of the Year award from Ontario Wildlife Rescue<\/a>.<\/p>\n McIntosh and his wife, Ella, look after as many as 100 bears at a time at their facility in Sprucedale, just south of Burk’s Falls.<\/p>\n He works closely with the Ministry of Natural Resources Bear Wise program, and is a partner in a coyote\/wolf\/bear<\/a> education initiative.<\/p>\n “Humans and human activity often cause pain and suffering to wild bears. This does not mean there is not some of the same in a bear’s natural world. However, people inflict the most pain, suffering and mortality. Keep in mind, very few wild bears actually die of old age. The vast majority are injured or die due to human activities, hunting being a major cause of bear mortality,” says the website.<\/p>\n