STROUDSBURG, Pa. — It's a lot like paradise inside this new bear cub enclosure. The addition at the Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center near Stroudsburg has been a long time coming for director Kathy Uhler and her husband Eric.
"This was designed by Eric and me together with an architecture firm, and it was just completed. It can hopefully house eight to ten bear cubs if necessary since we are the bear cub center in Pennsylvania," said Kathy Uhler.
The enclosure was paid for by casino money from the state, and a number of people and organizations helped bring it to life.
There's a bear den, boulders to climb on, and more inside the space.
Sibling cubs were moved inside. The duo came to the center in April after being rescued in Luzerne County.
Game Warden Dillon Gruver with the Pennsylvania Game Commission says this is great for cubs before they're eventually released back into the wild.
"We have cubs that get abandoned by their moms for whatever reason, maybe struck by a vehicle, so this is certainly important to have a facility where we can take cubs out of nature. I think it's great, and they will definitely be at home here," said Gruver.
A unique feature of the building is that if Kathy, Eric, or someone from the Game Commission needs to check on the cubs, they can come right inside this viewing room.
"They have total privacy here. We have one-way glass so we can observe them without them knowing that we are here, which is very important because we want these bear cubs to stay as wild as possible," said Uhler.
Now that the cubs have room to roam, they also need food to grow.
Pocono Wildlife needs donations, including apples, blueberries, melons, nuts, and whole-milk yogurt.
Drop off at off-hours are any time between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. You can call Kathy at (570) 402-0223.