Bear cub found wandering across land scorched by Colorado wildfire with severe burns on her paws

An orphaned bear cub whose paws were badly burned in a Colorado wildfire is being nursed back to health, state officials said Friday. 

Firefighters spotted the injured cub wandering alone in a burned-over area north of Durango last week and called Colorado Parks and Wildlife officers. 

The officers found the cub sitting in a tree and used a tranquilizer dart to immobilize her while she was transported to a medical facility.

The burns were severe, according to the facility’s manager Michael Sirochman. 

‘When the bear was brought in, I wasn’t sure if it was going to make it,’ he said.

With the help of salve, bandages, antibiotics and pain medication, the cub is making a quick recovery. 

‘She’s responding very well to treatment, and by winter we believe we’ll be able to return her to the wild,’ Sirochman said.

An orphaned bear cub whose paws were badly burned in one of the wildfires raging in southwest Colorado is being nursed back to health, state officials said Friday

The cub had sustained severe burns while wandering alone in a burned-over area north of Durango last week

The cub had sustained severe burns while wandering alone in a burned-over area north of Durango last week

The injured bear cub is four or five months and weighed just 10 pounds (4.5 kilograms) when she was rescued.

She’s now eating solid food and a liquid milk replacement, and spends most of her time lying on her side to keep weight off of the painful wounds.   

Caretakers are minimizing their contact with the cub so she won’t become accustomed to humans, which would make it difficult for her to survive in the wild.

After she heals, she will be placed in an enclosure with four other cubs at the wildlife facility. They could be released this winter.

‘We have good luck returning young bears to the wild,’ Sirochman said. ‘We’re very strict about minimizing human contact.’

The cub was rescued on June 22 and is being treated with salve, bandages, antibiotics and pain medication at a Colorado Parks and Wildlife facility in Del Norte

The cub was rescued on June 22 and is being treated with salve, bandages, antibiotics and pain medication at a Colorado Parks and Wildlife facility in Del Norte

Tracey Sirochman, left, and Michael Sirochman, right, are treating the female bear cub. They hope she will be able to return to the wild by this winter

Tracey Sirochman, left, and Michael Sirochman, right, are treating the female bear cub. They hope she will be able to return to the wild by this winter

The cub’s recovery has been an encouraging bit of news amid an extreme drought and an outbreak of disruptive wildfires in Colorado and much of the Southwestern US.

The wildfire that caused the cub’s injuries has scorched 65 square miles (168 square kilometers) near Durango in the southwestern corner of the state. 

More than 2,000 homes were evacuated at one point, but those residents were allowed to return.

Five other Colorado wildfires prompted the evacuation of at least 650 homes, but the exact number wasn’t immediately known Friday.

Some structures were destroyed by one of the fires, in the mountains east of Fort Garland in southern Colorado. Authorities haven’t said how many.

Wildfires have been scorching land across drought-stricken southwestern Colorado for weeks

Wildfires have been scorching land across drought-stricken southwestern Colorado for weeks



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