Cleco's Black Bear
Cleco is the first company to adopt a Louisiana black bear through the Black Bear Conservation Committee (BBCC), an organization dedicated to restoring the Louisiana black bear in its historic range.
Cleco's bear, named Hulabaloo by a student in Franklin, La., is a mother of four cubs and was captured in Tensas Parish in northeast Louisiana. She and her four cubs were relocated in March 2004 to Lake Ophelia National Wildlife Refuge in central Louisiana.
This is the third year the BBCC, in partnership with LSU, has captured and relocated female black bears and their offspring in an effort to repopulate a part of the state where Louisiana black bears once roamed.
Hulabaloo, who is between eight and 10 years old and weighs about 400 pounds, was captured in a cypress tree den about 45 feet off the ground. After a thorough checkup of the family, the bears made the trip to Lake Ophelia. (Click here for the latest update on Hulabaloo.)
The efforts to establish a bear population in east central Louisiana are part of a larger effort to protect this species in Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi. The BBCC strives to create a contiguous area for bears to live.
They capture mother bears since they have a very strong maternal instinct and generally don?t abandon their young. This instinct overcomes their natural tendency to leave their new dens and return home.
The new dens are wooden boxes covered with leaves and sticks from the bears? original and new homes. Before the bears are placed in the dens, biologists rub Vicks vapor rub all over the cubs and their mothers? noses to cover up any human scents. All the adult bears where radio collars for monitoring purposes.
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