Bear believed to be burned while hibernating now recovering at B.C. wildlife shelter

WARNING: A photo of the bear appears lower down in the story. It might be distressing to some readers.

A young bear is spending her Christmas at a northern B.C. wildlife centre after she was discovered curled up in the middle of the road near Dawson Creek.

“We got the call on Saturday evening that this bear was curled up on the middle of the road and somebody shooed it off the road into the snow underneath a tree,” Angelika Langen, executive director at the Northern Lights Wildlife Society in Smithers, told Global News.

“They called us for help because they felt that the animal was not in good shape.

“On Sunday, we got permission from the government to rescue and then our volunteer went out, met with the gentleman who had made the report and together they managed to put the bear into a transport box and get it onto a truck.”

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Langen said the volunteer kept the bear overnight to warm her up slowly and then she was transported to the Northern Lights Wildlife Society on Monday.

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“At that point, we thought we were looking at the bear being frostbitten because temperatures up in Dawson Creek had been really low and so yesterday we did an exam after we kind of observed for another night,” she added.

However, they soon discovered the bear wasn’t frostbitten, but burned.

“So we assumed that she was hibernating in a slash pile of wood that was burned and she caught fire,” Langen said.

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“Some of the fur on her back is burned off. Her paws are all burned, her face is burned, the front paws are burned quite severely and we have them bandaged… She has a really good chance of full recovery with us as long as we can continue treatment.”

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Langen said this is not a normal case they see.

“Sometimes we do get bears in the winter and they’re cold and undernourished, but this is a whole different level and a different story,” she said.

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“So I’m really surprised that she managed to be found and it’s really wonderful that we have a chance to help her along.”

Story continues below advertisement View image in full screen The burned bear is now on the road to recovery at the Northern Lights Wildlife Society. Northern Lights Wildlife Society

Langen said they hope the bear will be released in June as she joins some of the animals at the facility.

“We have five now, with the new one that are awake,” she said.

“They came in just before Christmas here and will need some special care. We have also three moose babies that we’re taking care of over the winter, a couple of coyotes, and then we have two permanent guests, a cougar and a raccoon that stay with us.”