Dozens rally in support of rescued bear cub Makoon

About 40 people rallied at Winnipeg's Assiniboine Park Zoo on Wednesday afternoon to voice their concerns about the fate of Makoon the orphaned bear cub.

Makoon attracted headlines after it was rescued by Rene Dubois of St. Malo, Man., in a ditch near the community in March.

Dubois cared for Makoon at his home for almost two weeks until Manitoba Conservation seized the cub in early April and temporarily placed it at the zoo, where it is currently being rehabilitated by staff.

The provincial government had said the young bear would be released into the wild in June, although officials now say no decision has been made about its future.

Those who attended Wednesday's rally urged the province not to release Makoon into the wild at least until it has undergone enough rehabilitation so it can survive.

"He weighed five pounds, he didn't have any teeth, he wasn't weaned," said Judy Stearns, who organized the rally.

"He has virtually no survival skills. He wouldn't have any recollection of anything he learned, anyways."

Among the rally participants were 12-year-old Mahv Wistoski and her mother, Joanne, who held up signs saying, "Makoon deserves a 100 per cent chance."

Mahv said she feels "it's important that Makoon doesn't get released too early."

Stearns and other organizers have gathered 10,000 signatures in a petition to the province.

No decision made yet: official

Jim Duncan of Manitoba Conservation said no decision has been made yet on whether to release Makoon into the wild or send it to a permanent home in captivity.

"We're … monitoring the bear's behaviour to determine how habituated to people it has become," he said.

"We recognize that when you release a rehabilitated animal, you're giving it a second chance at being a wild animal, and that's a successful outcome from a wildlife rehabilitation point of view," he added.

The cub's chance of survival in the wild ranges from 10 per cent to 50 per cent, Duncan said, adding that half of the cubs born in Manitoba each year do not survive.

Conservation Minister Gord Mackintosh said he is leaving decisions about Makoon's future to the province's wildlife experts.

Mackintosh said he has been told that Makoon currently weighs almost 14 kilograms and is growing everyday.