Oregon agency hopes a zoo can get scrawny bear in shape

MEDFORD, Ore. — Veterinarians are appealing to accredited zoos across the continent to rehabilitate a scrawny but otherwise healthy young bear that fell from a tree in southern Oregon earlier this month.

The female black bear weighed slightly more than 13 pounds when it was found upside down in blackberry bushes. Biologists say that at 9 to 12 months old, it should have weighed 40 to 60 pounds going into winter.

Mostly likely, the bear was orphaned before its mother could teach it foraging skills, they told the Medford Mail Tribune in a story published Wednesday.

The bear’s fate is uncertain. The goal is to get the animal in shape for release into the wild without allowing it to become habituated to humans. If it does, it’s likely to head into town and cause trouble. Bears used to being around people usually are put down.

Colin Gillin, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife veterinarian, said bears readily become accustomed to people. “Rehab is a tricky business,” he said, adding that a Washington bear rehabilitation facility is full.

The bear is in isolation at an agency facility near Corvallis, housed in a rural holding pen. Blood and urine tests showed no health problems.

The department’s policy is to place such animals in a facility accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums, whose membership Gillin has reached out to online.

“I’m shooting for a zoo,” he said. “If that doesn’t work out, I don’t know. I don’t have a Plan C. I should hear something this week.”