SALEM -- Oregon wildlife officials captured a bear cub that a southern Oregon man had been keeping at his home.

ODFW

Last week Oregon State Police Fish & Wildlife Division troopers cited 28-year-old Gabriel S. Maranov, of Sunny Valley for taking the cub from the wild.

The cub will spend the rest of its life in state custody, since animals that lose their fear of people often must be put down. It will live at the Wildlife Safari in Winston, Ore.

It’s the time of year when many animals birth and leave their young to feed. ODFW officials said many people mistake the animals for injured or abandoned and take them into care.

“It’s the number one phone call this time of year,” Karen Munday of the Audubon Society of Portland said. “People find healthy young birds and mammals and mistakenly think they need help.

“Only if you see the parent dead or dying should you assume a young animal by itself is orphaned,” ODFW’s State Wildlife Veterinarian Colin Gillin said. “If you encounter this situation, or see an animal clearly in distress or danger, contact your local ODFW or OSP office, or a wildlife rehabilitation center.”

Illegal possession of wildlife is punishable by up to a year in jail or a $6,250 fine.

Oregon designates licensed rehabilitators to keep wildlife they work with from becoming habituated to people and take care of such animals if they are found.

Before you put wildlife or your neighbors at risk by removing an animal from the wild, call state officials or a wildlife rehabilitator. If you see a marine mammal in distress or stranded, contact OSP’s hotline at 800-452-7888.