Burned bear cub ready for winter hibernation after being nursed back to health at Lake Tahoe
It didn't look good earlier this year for a 39 pound bear cub after being caught in a 400 square-mile forest fire this summer in Washington State. But thanks to the efforts of wildlife rehabilitation caregivers at Lake Tahoe, the bear has since made a sweeping recovery and will return to the wild this spring.
Suffering from third degree burns on all four paws, the cub was found under a horse trailer in Methow Valley, Wash. A state Department of Fish and Wildlife officer captured the young female cub, and a volunteer pilot flew her to California, where she arrived August 4 at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care in South Lake Tahoe. She was named Cinder.
Tom and Cheryl Milham took Cinder into the wildlife rehabilitation center where she was under the care of Dr. Kevin Willitts. The bear cub’s bandages were removed Sept. 30. Since then, Cinder has been rehabilitating and is now ready for transport to Idaho where she'll spend the winter.
The bear cub now weighs in at 83 pounds. After a final exam, Dr. Willitts will release Cinder from his care Sunday and where she will be taken by car to the Idaho Black Bear Rehabilitation Center to hibernate for the winter.
In spring 2015, Cinder will be returned to a suitable habitat near where she came from and will again be free in the wild, said Tom Milham.
“The reason she will be at IBBR for the next 4 months will be to allow her now healed burned paws a chance to 'toughen up' so she can be as natural as possible when she is released,” he said.
It isn't cheap to rehabilitate a bear, and LTWC has seen many of them this summer. The non-profit needs donations to continue to provide care to the bears and other animals that are at the center. To donate, visit their website here. LTWC operates under permits issued by California Fish and Game and the United States Department of the Interior and Wildlife Service. No fee is charged for any bird or wild animal brought to the center, nor is any wild animal refused care.
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