Last week, the Northern Lights Wildlife Society received an urgent call about a bear cub in serious trouble near Dawson Creek in northern B.C, Canada.
A volunteer rushed out right away and found the cub buried in snow at the base of a tree.
Thankfully, a group of volunteers rushed to help. They first drove the cub to Prince George, where she was warmed up in a box; they later continued their journey to Smithers.
The cub safely arrived at Northern Lights not long afterwards.
Angelika Langen, the organization’s co-founder and manager, shared a Christmas Eve update on Facebook, saying the cub had been through a lot and calling her survival a “Christmas miracle.”
Langen explained that they initially believed the cub had frostbite, but later discovered her injuries were actually burns.
Their best assumption is that the slash pile where the cub was hibernating caught fire. The flames burned away some of her fur and caused serious burns to her face and feet.
In a video update, Langen thanked everyone for the messages of support.
Speaking with media outlets, Langen said the cub had first been seen sleeping in the middle of a road in Dawson Creek.
People in the area realized it was not a safe spot and guided her off the road and under a nearby tree. That happened on Saturday night.
Later on, residents noticed something was wrong and contacted the organization.
Langen and her team do not believe the fire was intentionally set. She said it isactually fairly common for bears to hibernate in slash piles that are eventually meant to be burned.
They estimate the cub was born in January. Langen added that the bear is quite small for her age, weighing only about 44 pounds, or roughly 20 kilograms.
Langen said it’s not known whether the cub’s mother was with her when the fire happened, though she noted it is very possible, since mother bears typically den with their cubs.
She added that there are many different scenarios they can only guess about.
What they do know, she said, is that the cub suffered burns, endured freezing conditions, and now faces a long and challenging recovery.
