The mother was trapped and collared with 30 other black bears last fall. Since the bears spent the winter months denning, they were relatively easy to locate through the radio collars. The bears were transported to an artificial den in the new location, where experts hope they will emerge from denning in April and establish a new home in an area once teaming with bears. Previous reintroduction efforts using male bears have failed due to the bears' strong homing instincts. But experts believe a mother with young cubs will stay put.
Females have a much smaller home range.
The Fish and Wildlife Service plans to relocate at least one other bear this spring. Each relocated bear will be monitored with a radio collar. Similar bear relocation programs were successful in Tenessee and Arkansas. While Melissa and her cubs are being relocated to a well-established hardwood forest, a unique program is creating more habitat for the threatened black bears. The program allows the farmers to maintain ownership of the land as long as they protect it.