Two orphaned bear cubs are recovering at Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center after they were found wandering in a state forest in Central Pennsylvania.

The 6-month-old brother and sister, were found this week in Tuscarora State Forest in Perry County, west of Harrisburg. They were found near a deceased female bear believed to be their mother, and were suffering from malnourishment.

A Pennsylvania Game Commission officer, who also works as a state forest ranger, found the bears and first rescued the female cub, who weighed about 10.5 pounds, and then the male, who was about 13 pounds. At this stage in their development, they should be about 25 pounds each.

“The game commission allowed them to have their second chance,” said Kathy Uhler, director of the center.

Uhler said with berries not quite reaching their peak, there was a real risk that the bears could have starved to death if they weren’t rescued. There’s also concern that mature male bears could have injured or killed them during the summer mating season.

Uhler said the bears were noticeably underweight when they were rescued, because they are too young to forage for themselves.

However, they are expected to be able to recover fully before they will be released back into the wild by the game commission, likely later this year.

When the cubs arrived, Uhler treated them with IV fluids, worming medicine, and bear formula. Bear formula is 50% fat, versus normal cow’s milk which is about 4%. The formula helps the bears to gain weight quickly.

“They’re very, very thin. The little girl is weaker than the little boy that was brought in this morning,” she said.

Uhler said the bears will be monitored because the game commission is unsure whether their mother died from an injury or illness.

She knows they’re about 6 months old, because all bear cubs in the state of Pennsylvania are born in January.

Once the bears recover, they will spend the next few months in the center’s bear cub enclosure, which offers ample space for them to roam and forage. They’ll join another cub who is recovering from a broken limb.

Pocono Wildlife Rehabilitation is one of the best equipped facilities for bear cubs in the state. Uhler has been working with wildlife for 38 years and she said bear cubs present a unique challenge.

“They require a lot of space, they’re hard to house without escape, and they have to be kept away from people,” she said.

Usually bear cubs spend one winter hibernating with their mother before they disperse from the nest in spring. Female bears usually mate once every two years.

These bears will have to be released into the wild before their first hibernation. But Uhler said the center will be focused on making sure they have returned to a normal weight, and even get a little ahead of schedule, so they have enough energy stored up to make it through the winter hibernation — which means plenty of bear formula.

“We will make sure they’re fat and happy and have a nice enclosure to run around, eat and forage, and do everything so when the time comes for them to be released, they will be wonderful black bears in Pennsylvania,” she said. This weekend the center is holding its annual open house, the largest fundraiser of the year. There will be bands, food, and a tricky tray.

Hours are from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. today and Sunday. Some of the animals they have helped will be on hand, including raccoons, owls, hawks, and squirrels, will be on hand.

People who bring supplies for the shelter can enter to win gift cards. It’s still undetermined whether the Tuscarora cubs will be ready for their debut, but visitors will be able to see another cub who is recovering from a broken limb.

The center is at 1161 Cherry Dr. in Hamilton Township.

For more information, visit the center’s Facebook page