Bear cub fed Taco Bell and driven 10 hours in back of van brought to Chatham rescue

Myriam Armstrong's first thought when she got a call on Saturday evening about a bear in someone's van in Windsor was that it had to be another type of animal.

"I questioned that immediately because we've had many calls about bears, which always ended up being a weasel or a puppy or other animals," said Armstrong, executive director at Chatham-Kent's Pet and Wildlife Rescue (PAWR) Centre.

Armstrong told CBC Windsor on Tuesday that she asked for confirmation and a volunteer with the centre "went to the scene and indeed found the person with the bear in the back of the van."

Armstrong said there were also "a couple of police officers" at the scene "dealing with the situation."

According to Armstrong, she learned from speaking with two men who had the bear cub in their van that they found the animal on the road up north and thought it may be a good idea to load itup in their van and embark on a 10 hour journey to Windsor.

They told her they'd fed it food from Taco Bell, she said.

Armstrong said an offer to take the animal to PAWR was welcomed by the police officers, explaining that they have an area in the shelter that can allow for any animal to stay for a short period of time.

"So we went and picked the animal up and housed it overnight and then quickly worked to inform the Ministry of Natural Resources to let them know that we had the bear," she said.

"The next day we were able to find a rescue in Huntsville who was willing to take a bear on."

Armstrong says the animal appears to be approximately four months old and is about the size ofa large Labrador retriever.

It's unclear if Windsor police have laid charges in the matter. Police did not immediately return a message from CBC Windsor Tuesday.

Animal was 'stressed' and 'shell shocked'

Meanwhile, Armstrong said the bear was "so stressed" and "shell shocked" when she first saw the animal.

"From what we understood, he may have been hit on the road wherever he was found, so he wasn't in the greatest of shape," she said.

"So, we were just able to coax him to walk right into a crate from the back of that van and then we just loaded him up and took him to our shelter."

On Sunday morning they took the animal to Bear With Us a rescue near Huntsville, Ont.

Leave wildlife where you see them

Armstrong is reminding people that wildlife should be left in their natural habitat.

"My advice is, if you find wildlife anywhere, they really have to stay in their area. The amount of stress you're putting the animal under is completely unnecessary," she said. "Secondly, you never know what kind of diseases or parasites an animal can have that might spread into another area if you relocate the animal.

"There are bear rescues up north that could take care of that bear instead of driving him all the way down to Windsor and have him driven all over the countryside. I don't even know the reasoning behind it. It's just not necessary and really wildlife doesn't need us to pick them up and drive them all over, just find a local rescue."

If you're still not sure what to do when you see wildlife, Armstrong said, you should call the Ministry of Natural Resources or the police.

"There are always authorities that would have some contact information to find help where it's more appropriate than dragging them down the road so long," she said.