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Very little cub. Cute pix. click to see them
from the Press-Enterprise, Riverside and San Bernardino County CA

http://www.pe.com/localnews/inland/stor ... 5.html?npc

infant bear found in road in De Luz area heads to wildlife rehab


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11:36 AM PDT on Thursday, April 10, 2008
By SARAH BURGE
The Press-Enterprise
A sheriff's deputy in southwestern Riverside County found himself with an unusual travel companion Tuesday night.

It wasn't your average perpetrator. It was a tiny black bear.

Apparently, some people happened upon the cub while driving on the dirt extension of De Luz Road in the rugged hills west of Temecula. The mama bear was nowhere to be seen. So they scooped up the cub, took him home and called the Riverside County Sheriff's Department for help.

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Christine Jensen / Special to The Press-Enterprise
A bear cub was found on the dirt extension of De Luz Road in the rugged hills west of Temecula on Wednesday. The Fund for Animals Wildlife Center in Ramona, a San Diego County wild animal rescue and rehabilitation facility, is caring for the animal.
"They see this brown fuzzy thing in the road -- and it's a bear cub," said Deputy John Folia. "It just looked cute as can be, about 4 or 5 pounds. ... They were petting it."

Folia, too, searched the area where the cub was recovered, but he found no sign of the mother.

The state Department of Fish and Game could not send anyone out to take custody of the cub, so the Sheriff's Department spent a couple of hours searching for someone qualified to care for it.

The Fund for Animals Wildlife Center in Ramona, a San Diego County wild animal rescue and rehabilitation facility, agreed to take the cub in if a deputy would drive the animal to the county line for a hand-off.

"So I decided to take the bear," Folia said. "I'm thinking, 'Don't get carsick, bear, please.' " He made little bear noises in his pet carrier all the way to the county line, Folia said.

Lt. Leonard Hollingsworth said Folia called him Wednesday morning with a report. "He said, 'If you can guess what I had in the back of my car last night, I'll give you a million dollars.' "

Hollingsworth dubbed the bear "Boo Boo."

Folia said De Luz residents told him they had never heard of a bear sighting in the area.

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The black bear cub plays with a teddy bear.
Chuck Traisi, manager of the wildlife center that took in the cub, said that while there is a "very healthy" bear population north of Interstate 10, bears also have been spotted much farther south.

No one knows what the range or population of those bears is, but Traisi said there have been sightings in the Idyllwild area and even as far south as Ramona.

Traisi said this cub's mother probably died nearby, perhaps hit by a car. Or she might have been killed by a poacher and carted off, Traisi speculated.

A mother bear would never have strayed far from such a tiny cub, he said.

Traisi said the cub, a male estimated to be just a few weeks old, is eating fine and doing well. They have been feeding him a special formula and crushed fresh berries.

A staff member snapped photos of the dark-brown cub with a white belly as he frolicked and played with -- what else -- a stuffed toy bear.

Today, the wildlife center plans to turn the cub over to the Department of Fish and Game. The wardens are going to relay the cub up to the wildlife investigation lab near Sacramento, Traisi said.

There, wildlife biologists will assess the potential for the bear to be raised and released back into the wild.

Traisi said most likely, that will be too dangerous -- for both the bear and the public -- because the animal will lose its fear of humans.

"With a little black bear this young," Traisi said, "the chances are one in a million."

Reach Sarah Burge at 951-375-3736 or sburge@PE.com

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2008/04 ... 5a5f75.txt

REGION: Bear cub named Temecula
Animal found in De Luz being evaluated by Fish & Game officials
By NICOLE SACK - Staff Writer | Tuesday, April 15, 2008 8:29 PM PDT ∞
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The bear cub, found southwest of Temecula last week, sits quietly inside a cage at Paul and Diana Bein's home. (Courtesy photo)
The bear cub found last week in the hills of De Luz has been taken to an evaluation center near Sacramento and has been given a name: Temecula.

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The 6-week-old female black bear arrived at the state Department of Fish & Game's Wildlife Investigation Lab on Friday to be evaluated to see if the animal can be reintroduced into the wild or would need to live out its life protected in a sanctuary.

Fish & Game spokesman Kyle Orr said the cub's chances for being released into the wild are marginal, but added that she's in good condition and is a strong candidate for a zoo or educational facility.

"She is so young that she will need fairly intensive human contact in the next coming weeks," Orr said. "Right now, the bear requires round-the-clock care."

Orr said the cub goes home with a staff technician each night in an animal carrier. There is one other bear at the investigation lab.

"She's just too young to be put out in a pen," he said.

While the wildlife officials typically try to minimize human contact so the animals have the best opportunity to remain wild, Orr said the opposite approach is being taken with the cub.

Because the bear seems destined for a zoo or educational center, the staff members are attempting to make her more comfortable with humans.

The cub's unlikely return to the wild is also the reason she has been named, Orr said.

"Our policy is to treat wild animals like wild animals. If this was an animal that would be released back into the wild, we would not name it. But since that is unlikely, we have given the cub a name," Orr said. "Generally, we name the animals after the area or region in which they were found, in this case Temecula. We're calling her 'Tammy' for short."

Orr said the bear, which now weighs 6 pounds, will likely remain in the care of the lab technicians until she reaches 50 pounds. He stressed, however, that all animals are dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

The black bear cub was discovered the night of April 8 southwest of Temecula. The animal was found crossing a dirt road in De Luz about 8 p.m. by two passersby who reportedly said they first thought the apparently orphaned cub was a puppy.

The bear was dropped off at a nearby De Luz home and the residents there called the Riverside County Sheriff's Department. Wildlife officials have not determined what happened to the cub's mother.

About an hour and a half after the cub was found, she was placed in a dog carrier bag and began her journey south to the Fund for Animals Wildlife Center in Ramona, which partners with the Humane Society.

Charles Traisi, manager of the Fund for Animals, said the bear was healthy and remained at the center until Thursday morning when the animal began its journey to Fish and Game's lab to be evaluated.

"We boxed him up, made a care package with food and sent him on a relay trip to Rancho Cordova," Traisi said.

Department of Fish & Game officials say that while they were pleased no one was hurt when residents encountered the bear, they strongly advise people against approaching wild animals.

"We understand that this was a good-faith effort by a group of citizens, but obviously there is a potential danger," Orr said. "Most bear encounters occur when people come between a bear and its cub or between (it and) its food."

While it's uncommon to encounter a bear in this area, officials say there is a small population of bears in Southern California.

Contact staff writer Nicole Sack at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2616, or nsack@californian.com.