Rescued bear cub went from ‘fragile’ to ‘thriving’ in CA. See him romp about
A bear cub found alone in the California wild is now “thriving” after “round-the-clock attention and expert care,” a rescue nonprofit says.
The San Diego Humane Society’s Project Wildlife team has been caring for the 2-month-old bear, “the youngest black bear cub the organization has ever taken in,” for a little over a month, the nonprofit said in a May 14 news release.
“He was extremely fragile when he arrived,” Autumn Welch, the nonprofit’s wildlife operations manager, said in the release. “But now, he’s active, eating well and gaining weight steadily.”
Campers find bear
Campers visiting Los Padres National Forest in Santa Barbara County stumbled upon the lone cub on April 12, the nonprofit said.
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Initially biologists with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife tried “to reunite the cub with his mother by returning him to the wild overnight, but she did not return,” according to the nonprofit.
With no signs of the mother bear around, wildlife officials brought the cub to the nonprofit’s Ramona Wildlife Center two days after he was found, the nonprofit said.
30 days of expert care
When the bear arrived at the center, he was “underweight and alone,” the nonprofit said.
After staff provided the cub with diligent nonstop care for 30 days, the bear “is now stable, playful and thriving,” the nonprofit said.
“This is a very unusual case,” said Welch. “We don’t often see bears this young without their mother. It’s an honor to care for him, but it’s also a significant commitment.”
The nonprofit said raising a bear so young “requires an extraordinary amount of time, expertise and resources.”
Each day, the cub gets “four enrichment and feeding sessions,” the nonprofit said.
In addition, when the bear first arrived at the center, he needed overnight feedings “to help stabilize him,” the nonprofit said.
For the enrichment sessions, the nonprofit said staff “mimic maternal behaviors and help prepare the cub for life in the wild,” the organization said.
A video shared by the nonprofit on Facebook shows a staff member donning a bear costume, interacting with the bear.
The cub plays with a stuffed bear, playfully pawing and biting its ear as he rolls about the fuzzy covered floor.
The hope is to one day return the cub to the wild, the nonprofit said.
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If another bear cub is rescued in California, wildlife officials may potentially try to pair the two, “a critical strategy to keep orphaned cubs wild and reduce the risk of imprinting on humans,” the nonprofit said.
In the past five years, only four bear cubs in the state have been cared for in rehab centers, the nonprofit said.
This story was originally published May 15, 2025 at 10:07 AM with the headline "Rescued bear cub went from ‘fragile’ to ‘thriving’ in CA. See him romp about."
