This week, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources clued us in to a dream job we didn’t realize exists: professional baby-bear snuggler. And guess what? They’re hiring.
That’s not the whole job (unfortunately), but cuddling cubs is actually an important part of the research process when crews do check-ups on surrogate mama bears.
Here’s the deal (according to the department’s recent Twitter thread). Sometimes, researchers find orphaned baby bears who can’t survive on their own. To help give them a chance, they use GPS tracking collars to locate healthy mama bears with young cubs who could adopt the orphan. Occasionally, they check in on the mama bear — also called a sow — to upgrade her collar and do a health check-up and weigh-in.
Her young cubs, at just 3 to 6 pounds each, don’t have enough body fat to keep warm on their own while researchers work with the sedated sow. That’s where the cuddle team comes in. Each bear gets tucked safely inside a staff member’s jacket for warmth for about an hour until the exam is complete. Then, they’re returned back to mama’s loving care.
When the time comes to rehome an orphaned cub, the team will again locate the sow using her radio collar. Then, they basically trick her into thinking the orphan was her baby all along. “To defend her youngins from us, she shoos them up a tree and then runs away, hoping to lure danger away from the cubs,” Michagan DNR tweeted. “While she’s gone, we place the cub on the tree and say farewell.”
The team slathers the tree trunk with a scented goo that sticks to all the cubs when they climb down from the tree, so that they all smell the same. When mama bear comes back, she’ll treat the new cub like her own.
Sound like your kind of gig? Michigan’s Department of Natural Resources is hiring seasonal employees for their wildlife team, which may involve handling wildlife surveys in the spring and summer months.
It’s important to note that these professional cub cuddlers are specially trained to interact with adult bears and their cubs. While they look soft and adorable, these cubs are wild animals with serious claws. (And mama is rarely far away.) If you spot a bear out in the wild, keep your distance, give it plenty of space, and find an alternate route. And whatever you do, don’t sacrifice your slower hiking buddy to get away.