Nov 19, 2008 9:43 pm US/Pacific
"Li'l Smokey" Prepares To Reenter The Wild
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE (CBS13) ―
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Lil' Smokey weighed just eight pounds when he was found by a firefighter.
Tom Millham, Secretary/Treasurer for Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care
After an outpouring of support to save a little bear cub burned in a wildfire, wildlife experts have cleared "Li'l Smokey" to be released back into the wild.
The black bear cub, rescued by a firefighter in the Shasta-Trinity Forest, had paws so severely burned that his survival was in question. Li'l Smokey only weighed eight pounds when he was found, but is now rounding 80.
"The way his paws are coming back, the way the pads are growing, he's doing fantastic," said Tom Millham from the Lake Tahoe Wildlife Center.
The LTWC is the organization that nursed the cub back to health, making sure the only human contact he's had has been while he was sedated.
"The goal for Smokey… heal his wounds, release him back into the wild," Millham said. "There has been no other option as far as we're concerned."
Inducing hibernation will help prepare for his release. Caretakers will start cutting back on his food, sending nature's signal that it's time for a winter nap. In January or February, he'll be released within a 50-mile radius of where he was found.
Li'l Smokey might be put in a cave or he may get to take his own little mobile home.
"If he's spending a lot of time in his igloo we will probably send that out with him," Millham said. "It will feel more natural to him."
The little bear who has generated big interest will soon be giving up the spotlight, but won't soon fade from memories.
"We've been doing this for 30 years," Millham said. "Nothing has come along like Smokey."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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