A small bear cub orphaned in Ojai is alive and being taken care of thanks in part to our state Department of Fish and Game (DFG) wardens.  Someone witnessed the 10-pound cub  without its mother for three days.   Over the weekend, A DFG warden who was called to check it out, inspected the area where the cub was found and found no trace of a female sow in the area.  The warden did see  large bear tracks but did not find any  scat or any type of den.  With no sign of the cub’s mother, the DFG decided the cub was abandoned or orphaned by its mother. 

The female cub is just three months old and wouldn’t survive on her own.  She was taken to a wildlife veterinarian and determined to be healthy and  that makes her a candidate for rehabilitation and release.  With that diagnosis, the cub went on a road trip with volunteers, a drive from Southern California  up to Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care.  She’ll spend the winter being cared for and the hope is to release her back into the wild in the spring. 

“Taking care of this cub is one of the many reasons we have, and rely on,  wildlife professionals,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement  Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona. “They not only enforce the law, but they know what it takes to rescue and care for wildlife, in this case an innocent  cub that would have gone hungry and most likely wouldn’t have survived.” 

The cub doesn’t have a name yet but she’s quickly becoming an internet sensation.  

Check her out at the Department of Fish & Game website:http://cdfgnews.wordpress.com/2012/10/16/dfg-and-partners-save-bear-cub-orphaned-in-ojai/   Photos on this page are courtesy of the California Dept. of Fish & Game.