Tucked along a bustling highway, behind scattered family homes south of Snohomish, is a narrow wooded path that winds uphill to a 25-acre oasis for animals of all types.

PAWS Wildlife Rehabilitation Center opened here in 2024. It serves creatures in need from the smallest hummingbirds to the mightiest predators.

The center has sheltered American black bear cubs since April, after they were abandoned, orphaned, injured or separated from their mothers, according to Sara Gómez Taylor, a spokesperson for the center. A 10th black bear became one of the center’s newest guests last Thursday. It’s the most PAWS has ever hosted at its new facility.

More bears means more mouths to feed. The center has scrambled to feed the hungry bunch, who need to eat a total of 175 pounds of food each day — and they won’t eat just anything.

“This is animal welfare, so nothing’s ever expected,” she said. “We anticipate helping and supporting when needed, where needed.”

The juvenile bears are growing day-by-day, with shelter staff and volunteers moving stealthily in the background, before they’re ready to brave the wild again. For half of them, that day could come as soon as next month.

Gómez Taylor said the center works with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife to connect with animals in need.

“It’s limited what bears can be relocated into captivity,” said Chase Gunnell, a spokesperson for Fish and Wildlife.

Most adult black bears cannot be moved into captivity, out of concern they’ll become dependent on humans for food. So when bears come to PAWS, they typically arrive as cubs.

Staff and volunteers try to limit their contact with the cubs to prevent them from associating humans with their source of food.

As one of two facilities in Washington permitted to rehabilitate American black bears, PAWS recently opened an outdoor enclosure to ensure the cubs are properly enriched before they set off into the wild.

The new facility near Snohomish was designed to have more capacity than the former PAWS wildlife center in Lynnwood, Gómez Taylor said. The Lynnwood center couldn’t hold as many bears.

Cubs crave fish and fresh or frozen vegetables.

“Part of the work of a bear cub is to grow,” Gómez Taylor said. “They’re eating and consuming anything they possibly can, so we’re making sure that their meal is well-rounded. It has the protein, it has the fruit, it has the veggies.”

The bears, by way of PAWS, are accepting donations of carrots, squash, zucchini, pumpkins, broccoli, sweet peppers, lettuce and cabbage, as well as fresh or whole fish, like salmon. The fish must be not frozen for more than six months. The center is not accepting citrus, onions, garlic, leeks, tomatoes, spicy peppers or apples. 

For those who don’t have a whole salmon or a bunch of pumpkins on hand, the bears will also be happy to take Costco or Safeway gift cards, and cash or monetary donations, which will contribute to their meals. 

All donations can be sent to the shelter at 13508 Highway 9 Southeast in Snohomish County. PAWS is a nonprofit founded in 1967.

If they’re healthy, five cubs should be ready this November to face the wilderness, where they will forage for their own food before hibernating through the winter. 

The other five, who are newer residents, will stay at the center through the winter, eating good food and getting a few months’ worth of sleep before their release in the spring.