A malnourished bear cub, weighing just 16 pounds, is given another chance at life after it was found near Red River a few months ago.
“The worst cub we’ve ever received in absolute end-stage starvation,” said Dr. Kathleen Ramsay, co-founder of Cottonwood Rehab Center.
The Cottonwood Rehabilitation Centre said they received a call on March 3 about a bear being sighted at Red River. It was a young female black bear that the New Mexico Game and Fish Department caught in Mallory Canyon and then handed over to the rehabilitation center.
Dr. Ramsay said that when the cub was first rescued, they thought it weighed around 16 pounds. They stated that he was in the adolescent stage when he weighed between 160 and 190 pounds.
The bear had some kind of spinal injury, and they suspected that it may have been struck by a vehicle.
The youngster, who they named Pray, had to be fed nutrients using tubes and a syringe at first. They stated Pray now weighs around 100 pounds and was later moved to a rehabilitation facility. According to the center, if she gets a healthy weight when she reaches adulthood, she will be returned to the wild.
Cottonwood Rehabilitation said that in September, they plan on releasing Pray back into the wild. They’ll be hosting their annual Bearfest in August, where people can learn more about the organization.
