Virginia’s human population is growing – and so is the number of black bears in the state. That sometimes means trouble, but the Wildlife Center of Virginia is working to ensure that things don’t end badly for either species. The Wildlife Center of Virginia has long cared for injured birds, squirrels, rabbits, raccoons and possums, but last year President Ed Clark decided to get into the bear business. “The population of black bears in Virginia has been growing at about 9% per year, and that puts them in more frequent contact with humans. The problem that we had last year was that we had very few acorns in the woods, which meant that there were a lot of animals out there, they were very hungry, and they ended up coming into town. They cross interstate highways. The mothers are hit. The babies are hit. Some of them are attacked by dogs. Some of the mothers will go over the fence with the older cubs. The runt may not be able to make it across the fence. They get separated, and sometimes
↧