Boo Boo returns to wild
A bear cub hurt in the Mustang Complex Fire was moved to a rehabiliation area in central Idaho on Friday.
Idaho Fish and Game biologist Jeff Rohlman picked up the bear, known as Boo Boo, at the Humane Society shelter in Boise, where he has been recuperating from second-degree burns on all four paws.
Rohlman took the bear t o the Snowdon Wildlife Sanctuary in the mountains outside McCall. The sanctuary is dedicated to the care and rehabilitation of injured and orphaned wildlife. Since 1989 it has housed and cared for a range of large and small mammals and birds in distress from injury, loss of parents, or loss of habitat, Idaho Fish and Game said Friday.
He will spend the first night in a pen about the size of a single-car garage, which is attached to a two-acre enclosure at the sanctuary. When released from the pen, he will be free to roam the enclosure.
Firefighters battling the blaze north Salmon rescued the cub Aug. 26. At the time, all four paws were badly burned, and he was treated initially at Idaho Fish and Game’s Wildlife Health Lab in Caldwell. Boo Boo weighed in at 46 pounds on Friday, up from his 23 pounds on Aug. 31, when veteterinarian Mark Drew transferred him to the Idaho Humane Society.
There appeared to be no infection in any of his foot pads, despite his burns, Drew said.
