Young bear removed from Marineland finds forever home at Rosseau wildlife sanctuary

Bear finds forever home in Rosseau sanctuary A young bear removed from Marineland has found a forever home after being adopted by staff at Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary.

A black bear named Sasha has found his forever home at the Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary after being removed from Marineland in Niagara Falls.

Last November, staff at the Rosseau centre received a call from Animal Welfare Services about finding a new, permanent home for the young bear.

Aspen Valley staff rescue, rehabilitate and release (when possible) wildlife from mice to moose.

"We're also one of the only rehabbers in Ontario that also has a sanctuary. It's for animals that, through no fault of their own, have not been able to be released to the wild or they were born in captivity. Many of them have been used for entertainment - pay and play kind of situation - and they need a forever home," said Linda Glimps, executive director of the wildlife sanctuary.

The sanctuary agreed to foster Sasha, previously called Slash, last fall.

"The decision to foster first was an important one. We needed to determine if Sasha was a good fit with one of the five other black bears who already call Aspen Valley home," said Glimps. "Caring for a sixth, much larger, black bear is a very big commitment, and yet we were determined to help Sasha."

The then two-year-old bear had to adapt quite a bit to his new environment, but staff say he has adjusted well.

"When he came out in the spring, he did have some troubles with the amount of snow we had. He wasn't too sure about how to walk on it. He didn't like snow, he didn't like mud, he didn't like anything, but since then, he has really become a bear. He loves his pond, he loves the mud, he loves everything," said Jan Kingshott, the sanctuary's director of animal welfare.

Once Sasha became comfortable in his new home, it was time to introduce him to Clover, a three-year-old bear born at Aspen Valley.

"Since we introduced him to Clover, they've just had a lot of fun together. He's actually very social, and he loves people. He really likes people around him, so that's why we have him at one of the front-facing closures because all the tours can see him, and he likes being a part of those tours," said Kingshott.

The staff have since decided to formally adopt Sasha and put in a request with the Ministry of Natural Resources and Animal Welfare Services.

"The adoption papers were signed early this month, and Sasha has officially found his forever home," Glimps said.

Sasha will remain at the sanctuary for the remainder of his life, which could be up to 30 years.

Each month, feeding a single bear costs the centre $500. So far this year, the wildlife sanctuary has had 800 animals through the facility.

The not-for-profit centre relies solely on donations to operate. Anyone interested in supporting Sasha and the wildlife in care is encouraged to donate online.

With files from CTV's Molly Frommer