It's been a wild year at the Montana Wildlife Center with 47 black bear cubs, two bobcat kittens, a mountain lion kitten, a coyote pup and a variety of birds.

The center has released a majority of the 34 black bear yearlings from last spring, but even before the yearlings were released, 12 newly orphaned cubs arrived at the center. Orphaned cubs can be the result of environmental causes such as drought when sows may abandon cubs or human conflicts where a sow may be killed in car, train or hunting accidents.

Patti Sowka, the center's director and bear expert, heads the effort to care for the orphaned cubs. With help from staff members and volunteers, the scruffy, skinny cubs become healthy, glossy-coated yearlings.

Not all orphaned or injured wildlife brought to the center can be rehabilitated. For example, two orphaned bobcat kittens arrived at the center with pneumonia. Staff and volunteers gave them round-the-clock care. One kitten survived but had vision problems that would affect her ability to hunt prey in the wild. A wildcat sanctuary in Minnesota agreed to take the bobcat kitten and will provide a natural habitat.

Birds at the center this year included a grounded loon and a red-headed duck which were both released at Canyon Ferry Lake. Two pelicans with injuries that prevented them from migrating were placed with the Racine (Wis.) Zoo in a new wildlife exhibit. With few exceptions, most birds at the center are transferred to other rehabilitation centers such as the Montana Raptor Center in Bozeman, which specializes in birds of prey or the Fly-Away center in Helena which rehabilitates song birds.

Although all wildlife is important to the center, the main focus of the Montana Wildlife Center is the orphaned bear cub rehabilitation and release program.

The rehabilitation facility opened in 2002 and is owned and operated by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife & Parks. To better prepare the animals for a life in the wild, the public cannot view wildlife up close, but visitors can enjoy watching the bears' antics via real-time, closed-circuit TV in the lobby.

The second phase of the wildlife center complex, a nature and education center, will be housed in the historic Stedman Foundry building adjacent to the rehabilitation facility. The nature center will be open to the public with nature exhibits, a living stream and real-time video of the animals at the rehabilitation facility.

The Foundation For Animals, a Helena nonprofit organization dedicated to assisting projects that benefit animals, originally raised the funds to purchase the 5 acre site adjacent to Spring Meadow Lake State Park and build the rehabilitation facility and three outdoor bear compounds. This campaign was in partnership with the state of Montana.

FFA is now raising funds for additional wildlife enclosures and exercise areas for the bears as well as other improvements at the facility. A "Back to the Wild" Gala will be held at the center on Aug. 8. The social hour and silent auction will begin at 6 p.m. The dinner program includes a special short film on wildlife rehabilitated at the center and director Patti Sowka will share stories about their journey back to the wild.