You’re sitting on your back porch in Frederick or maybe Gaithersburg, sipping coffee, when you see it. A ball of black fur, barely bigger than a toaster, tumbling through your azaleas. It's cute. Honestly, it’s adorable. But then you realize that where there’s a cub, there is almost certainly a very large, very protective mother bear nearby. Or worse, the cub is alone, wandering toward a busy intersection like I-270. That’s when the panic sets in and the phone calls to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) start flying.
Maryland bear cub relocation isn't as simple as catching a stray kitten and driving it to a farm. It’s a high-stakes logistical puzzle. People often think the state just scoops them up and drops them in the "woods," but the reality is way more complicated and, frankly, a bit grittier than the 30-second clips you see on the local evening news.
Maryland’s black bear population has exploded over the last twenty years. We aren't just talking about the deep woods of Garrett and Allegany counties anymore. They’re moving east. They’re in Washington County, Frederick, and even Montgomery and Howard. As the bears move into the suburban sprawl, the frequency of "nuisance" calls has skyrocketed, leading to a lot of misconceptions about how the state handles these animals.
Why Maryland Doesn't Just Move Every Bear
There is a huge myth that if a bear shows up in your yard, the DNR will just come dart it and take it away. That's almost never the case.
Relocation is actually a last resort. Biologists like Harry Spiker, the state’s lead bear biologist, have been vocal about this for years. Why? Because relocation often fails. Bears have an incredible homing instinct. You can drive a bear fifty miles away, and it will often beat the ranger back to the original neighborhood. It’s like they have a built-in GPS that refuses to recalibrate.
When it comes to Maryland bear cub relocation, the stakes are even higher. If a cub is truly orphaned—meaning the mother was hit by a car or killed—the state has to move fast. But if the cub is just "wandering," the best move is usually to leave it alone. Most people don't realize that mother bears often "park" their cubs in a safe tree while they go forage for food. If a well-meaning human intervenes too early, they aren't rescuing the cub; they're kidnapping it.
The state follows a pretty strict protocol. If a bear isn't causing property damage or threatening public safety, they won't touch it. They want the bear to stay wild. Once you trap and move a bear, you’re often just moving a problem from one person’s backyard to someone else’s.
The Orphan Situation
What happens when a cub is actually alone? This is where the real work begins. If a cub is found in late spring or summer and weighs less than a certain threshold, it can't survive on its own. It hasn't learned to hunt or forage effectively.
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In these cases, Maryland officials often look for a "surrogate." This is one of the coolest, most "nature-is-wild" things the DNR does. If they have a known sow (mother bear) in the area who already has cubs, they will sometimes try to sneak the orphan into her litter.
It sounds like a Pixar movie plot.
Biologists will rub the orphan cub with the scent of the mother’s actual cubs—sometimes using Vicks VapoRub or just natural scents—to trick her. Most of the time, she’ll accept the newcomer. This is the gold standard for Maryland bear cub relocation because the cub stays in the wild and learns how to be a bear from a bear, not from a human in a green uniform.
The Logistics of Moving a 100-Pound "Baby"
By late autumn, a "cub" isn't exactly small. They can weigh 60, 80, or 100 pounds. At this stage, relocation becomes a physical workout.
- Trapping: Usually involves a culvert trap. It’s basically a giant metal tube on wheels with a trap door.
- Tranquilizing: If the bear is in a residential area, biologists use a dart gun. They have to be incredibly careful with dosages. Too much and the bear stops breathing; too little and you have a very angry, semi-conscious predator.
- Processing: While the bear is out, they take hair samples, tooth wear measurements, and ear tag them. This data is vital for tracking the population spread across the Allegheny Mountains and the Piedmont region.
- Transport: The bear is moved in a specialized trailer. It’s dark, cool, and ventilated to keep their stress levels down.
Where do they go? Usually, they are taken to large tracts of state-owned land, like Savage River State Forest or Potomac-Garrett State Forest. The goal is to put them somewhere with high-quality natural food sources—think acorns and berries—so they don't feel the need to go looking for a Birdman-brand birdfeeder in someone's cul-de-sac.
The Problem with "Problem" Bears
Let’s be real: we are the problem.
Maryland's bears aren't naturally aggressive. They are, however, incredibly lazy. If you leave a bag of trash out or a bowl of dog food on the porch, that’s a 5,000-calorie win for a bear. Once a cub learns that "humans = easy calories," that cub is effectively doomed.
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This is what biologists call "food conditioning." A food-conditioned bear is a dangerous bear because it loses its fear of people. When a bear is relocated because it was raiding trash cans, it often just finds the nearest trash can in its new location. It’s a cycle that usually ends with the bear having to be euthanized for public safety. It’s the part of the job that every DNR officer hates.
People think they are being kind by feeding a "hungry" cub. You aren't. You're signing its death warrant.
The Western Maryland Dynamics
If you live in Garrett County, bears are basically giant squirrels. You’re used to them. You have bear-proof trash cans. You know not to leave the garage door open.
But as Maryland bear cub relocation efforts push bears further into the central part of the state, there’s a massive learning curve. People in Frederick County often freak out when a bear walks through a playground. That fear drives a lot of the demand for relocation.
There's also the genetic factor. Maryland's bear population is actually quite healthy. We’ve seen a massive recovery since the 1970s when bears were almost non-existent in the state. Today, there are well over 2,000 adult bears. That might not sound like a lot, but in a state as small and densely populated as Maryland, it’s a crowded house.
When Rehab is the Only Option
Sometimes, a surrogate mother can't be found. Maybe it's the middle of winter, or the available sows already have too many cubs.
Maryland doesn't have a state-run bear sanctuary. Instead, they often coordinate with licensed wildlife rehabilitators who have the massive enclosures needed to house a growing bear. These facilities are designed to have zero human contact. They use "stealth feeding" where the bears never see the person giving them food.
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The goal is to release them back into the Maryland wilds during the following spring when the "green-up" happens and food is plenty. It’s expensive. It’s time-consuming. But for an endangered-adjacent species in a local ecosystem, it’s worth it.
What You Should Actually Do
If you see a bear cub in your yard, don't grab your phone for a selfie. Seriously.
First, give it space. A lot of space. If you’re within 50 yards, you’re too close. If the cub is up a tree, it’s fine. It’s doing exactly what its mother told it to do. Back off, put your dogs inside, and wait. 99% of the time, the mother will come back at dusk or during the night, and they’ll vanish before you wake up.
If the cub is still there after 24 hours, or if it looks visibly injured or emaciated, that’s when you call the DNR Wildlife & Heritage Service at 1-877-463-6497.
Maryland bear cub relocation is a tool, but it's not a magic wand. The real solution to living with bears in the Old Line State is changing our behavior, not theirs.
Actionable Steps for Maryland Residents
- Secure your trash: If you live west of the Chesapeake, use bear-resistant bins or keep your trash inside a sturdy shed until the morning of pickup.
- Pull the feeders: If you see a bear in your neighborhood, take down your bird feeders immediately. Birds don't need the extra food in the summer anyway.
- Clean the grill: A greasy Hibachi is a beacon for a hungry yearling. Burn off the grease and store the grill inside.
- Educate your neighbors: One person feeding a bear in a neighborhood makes the entire street unsafe. It only takes one "easy meal" to start the habit.
- Report, don't transport: Never, under any circumstances, try to move a cub yourself. It's illegal, it's dangerous, and you’ll likely cause the cub to be rejected by its mother or the state system.
The presence of black bears is actually a sign of a healthy ecosystem. It means our forests are recovering and our conservation laws are working. Relocation will always be a part of the strategy, but the more we can let bears stay where they are, the better off the population will be. Understanding that these animals are a permanent fixture of the Maryland landscape is the first step toward a peaceful co-existence.