This story is taken from Sacbee / News / Top Stories.
Lil' Smokey's getting better
Black bear cub off critical list
By Bill Lindelof - blindelof@sacbee.com
Published 2:17 pm PDT Thursday, July 24, 2008
Lil' Smokey - the black bear cub who suffered horrible burns to his paws in the Northern California wildfires - was off the critical list Thursday and gaining a little weight at a South Lake Tahoe wildlife care center.
"He gained a another two ounces today," said Tom Millham, a founder of Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care.
Millham said that cub was stable but cautioned that there is still the possibility that any of his injured paws could become infected.
The 6-month-old cub was injured in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest west of Redding, and weighed 8.5 pounds when found by a state firefighter last week.
On Thursday, he weighed in a 11 pound, 14 ounces. Lil' Smokey was eating well again on a diet of fruit cocktail, pears, peaches and butter lettuce.
"It's a good sign that he is putting on weight," said Millham. "He is coming along."
The daily dressing of his paws continues. His next checkup with a veterinarian is Wednesday.
Until then, caregivers at the wildlife care center will continue with a regimen of painkillers, antibiotics and a new paw dressing every day.
"He is not critical now because no infection has set in," said Millham. "That was the concern the first 48 hours."
To prevent infection, wildlife center workers sedate the bear cub and put a different kind of salve on each paw. On one paw they slather honey and the other paws each get a different kind of burn ointment.
"When the doctor gives his paws an examination next week, he will decide which of the four treatments is actually getting the best response," Millham said.
Lil' Smokey sleeps a third of the day in large dog portable carrier.
When the bear's wounds heal, he will be taught to enter water to fish, search logs stuffed with grubs and rummage for acorns.
Then, the cub will be placed in a snow den in January or February for hibernation in a location selected by the state Department of Fish and Game.
It is important that his paws regenerate and his claws regrow so that he can forage for food on his own in the wild, Millham said.
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