Lockport's Big Run Wolf Ranch offers up-close look at Kuma the bear and other wildlife

LOCKPORT, Ill. - This week's Orange Friday took a unique turn with a visit from Kuma the Bear, a 500-pound black bear who has spent most of his life at Big Run Wolf Ranch in Lockport.

The ranch offers visitors a chance to see Kuma, along with wolves, big cats and other wildlife up close. Some of the animals at the ranch, including Kuma, are rescues. Kuma, now 25 years old, has an unusual backstory.

"In 1999, there was a guy who got a hold of two baby bears. We don’t know how, probably took them from the wild somehow, and he was selling them in Kankakee to anybody who had $300," said Ranch Manager Rainah Runty. "So some lady ended up buying Kuma and pretty much brought him home and was trying to keep him as a pet."

Runty explained that it didn't take long for neighbors to realize Kuma was a bear, prompting them to call Animal Control. The bear was eventually brought to Big Run Wolf Ranch, where he's lived ever since.

Kuma spends much of the winter hibernating, or what’s known as torpur, a state where his metabolism slows, and he sleeps more. 

Despite Kuma's winter rest, the ranch continues its educational mission. 

"We’re all about education. We just want to teach people about these animals that are, unfortunately a lot of them, very misunderstood," Runty said.

They hold a USDA federal license to educate the public both on-site and off-site about the importance of these animals and the roles they play in the ecosystem.