Page 18 - Dec24

Zookeepers Nancy Smith and Lindsey Davis (above) flew on the 350 to retrieve the cubs and feed them (below) on the flight to Wichita.
can also be used for surveillance or transportation of detectives for on-duty work in other states. For example, we’ve taken our K-9 unit to pick up new canines.”
The bear cub adventure
Sherwood said picking up new canines for the office is the only mission remotely close to transporting bear cubs, something she never dreamed she’d be asked to do.
“This was kind of once-in-a-lifetime,” she said. “It was a really cool adventure.”
The flight to Oregon included Doc and Sherwood, zookeepers Nancy Smith and Lindsey Davis and two communications team members to document the trip. They flew from Wichita’s Colonel James Jabara Airport (KAAO) to Southwest Oregon Regional Airport (KOTH) in North Bend, a city surrounded on three sides by Coos Bay.
“There was an airport just north of Winston, where the cubs were being kept at Wildlife Safari, but because it doesn’t have approaches, we went to Southwest Oregon Regional to be on the safe side,” Sherwood said.
They split the trip over two days to give the zookeepers time to coordinate with the Wildlife Safari team on feeding schedules and to allow the cubs to start acclimating to their new keepers.
“The zookeepers were so knowledgeable and nice enough to involve us in the process,” Sherwood said. “It was cool to talk with them and understand what they go through with these wild animals. They invited us to go with them to Wildlife Safari, a 600-acre outdoor zoo. The staff there drove us through and showed us some behind-the-scenes work.”
The crates the zoo brought along to load the cubs into were larger than needed. Fortunately, Wildlife Safari
16 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
had smaller carriers that fit in the King Air seats and could be maneuvered to feed the cubs by bottle every two hours and keep them in sight of one another.
“The cubs weren’t used to being separated, so the keepers had to face the cubs toward each other,” Sherwood said. “There was some crying when they couldn’t see each other.”
The male slept most of the trip, the female needed a few apple slices to settle down. According to Sherwood, the bears were great passengers considering all they’d been through in the days leading up to the flight.
“Seeing those little baby bears was just awesome,” she said, adding that the flight to Oregon took a little over 5.5 hours with a headwind and the return flight was 4.5 hours.
DECEMBER 2024