Bear Cub Rescued From Montana Forest Fire Returned to the Wild

A tiny black bear cub burned in a Montana forest fire last summer was returned to the wild Wednesday, its limp, sleeping body tucked by wildlife biologists into a man-made den where it will continue its winter hibernation.

The year-old male cub, which has been recuperating in a state animal shelter since firefighters found it in August, was placed with another cub in the den on a snowy mountainside in northwestern Montana.

“He’s been given a second chance. The rest is up to him,” said Kurt Cunningham, supervisor of the state wildlife shelter in Helena.

The cub was found after a forest fire raged through the Bitterroot Valley in southwestern Montana. The animal, its paws burned and fur singed, was alone, emaciated and clinging to a charred tree.

The cub was brought to the shelter in Helena, where its burns were treated and its body fattened up on a high-protein diet. Officials also tried to limit the bear’s contact with humans, which became difficult as news of the orphan spread.

“We were getting hundreds, sometimes thousands of visitors to the shelter,” a spokesman said.