Denver (NewsNation Now) — A young black bear is now roaming the Colorado Rocky Mountains after recovering from burns sustained during the Cameron Peak Fire, wildlife officials said.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife released the bear on May 5 after treating the animal for five months.
The agency said the someone spotted the injured bear cub on a porch in December. It had old burns on its feet from the Cameron Peak Fire and its ears were infected from frostbite. CPW said the bear was also severely dehydrated, weak, starving and covered in cockleburs.
The orphaned bear weighted just 16.3 pounds, CPW said.
A video created by the agency shows the bear’s recovery, rehabilitation, and release.
The one-year-old bear weighed 93 pounds when it began its journey back in the wild, the agency said.
“This is an incredibly fortunate bear,” CPW Area Wildlife Manager Jason Duetsch said in a news release. “Most wild animals don’t survive the myriad of injuries they are exposed to, let alone be found, captured and treated successfully. He definitely would not have made it through much longer. It is the smallest bear cub I have ever seen at that time of the year, which helped us make the decision to try rehabilitation.”
The Cameron Peak Fire burned 208,913 acres from Aug. 13 when it started through Dec. 2 when containment finally reached 100 percent.