Orphaned baby bear hangs out in tree at Colorado zoo, photos show. ‘Smart little cub’
Visitors spotted a “little fuzzy guest” — from the wild — sleeping up in a tree several times at a Colorado Springs zoo, photos show.
But the cub’s mom was never around, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo said on Facebook.
“The little black bear cub, while not a resident, decided the Zoo was a good place to visit periodically,” the zoo said.
The clever little cub chose the right place, the zoo said.
“Determining that the black bear cub was likely orphaned and too young to survive without intervention, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo staff partnered with Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) to safely remove the cub from a tree on Zoo grounds,” the zoo said.
The teams brought the cub to the zoo’s veterinary clinic for a check-up, “where he was given a clean bill of health,” the zoo said.
He was a lucky little guy, officials said.
“A cub without a mother has very little chance of surviving the winter,” Colorado Parks and Wildlife Southeast Region said on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The zoo kept visitors away so the cub would stay calm as wildlife officers sedated it, officials said.
“They even provided a boom lift to safely retrieve the bear from high in a tree,” the agency said. “Bears will commonly climb a tree when they feel threatened.”
Photos show the little cub up in the tree and wildlife officers in the boom lift.
“The little guy will go to a rehabilitation facility, where he will stay until late fall,” the zoo said. “Once it is time for wild bears to ‘den up,’ CPW will create a man-made den for the bear cub and release it to the wild. The hope is that he will sleep the winter away and when spring arrives, he will be older and able to live on his own.”
Colorado Parks and Wildlife did the same thing for two orphaned cubs near Colorado Springs in February, McClatchy News previously reported.
“Luckily, this little bear came to the right place,” the zoo said. “Thanks to the great teamwork between Zoo staff and CPW, this orphaned bear has a great opportunity for survival.”
Several people shared in the comments that they had seen the whole ordeal during a visit to the zoo.
“I was visiting from Texas to hopefully see a black bear in the wild. I didn’t know I would see it at the Cheyenne Zoo today,” someone said. “That’s what I call a Colorado welcome. Great job all the way around by zoo employees.”
Several people marveled at the astute little bear’s instinct to ask for help at a zoo of all places.
“What a smart little cub,” someone said. “He knew he’d get taken care (of).”
This story was originally published July 12, 2024 at 3:10 PM with the headline "Orphaned baby bear hangs out in tree at Colorado zoo, photos show. ‘Smart little cub’."
