Bear Cub Injured In California Wildfire Struggles To Recover

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. --

A young California black bear that suffered serious injuries in a Shasta-Trinity National Forest wildfire before being rescued by a firefighter is struggling to recover at a wildlife care center in South Lake Tahoe.

The firefighter that found the badly burned bear cub named him Little Smokey. The goal is to return him to the wild, but that may prove difficult.

The six-month-old California black bear cub weighs 10 pounds. He should weigh at least twice that. He lost a toe on every paw in the fire.

Tim Millham works at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, the only facility in California authorized to rehabilitate bear cubs.

"He's got second and third degree wounds and burns on all four of his paws," says Millham.

Little Smokey arrived Friday after a firefighter found him alone, crawling along a road in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. As the firefighter approached, the cub tried to run.

"I guess Smokey tried to climb a tree. Imagine yourself with burned hands, trying to climb something," says Millham.

Every day, Little Smokey is tranquilized and his bandages are removed and his wounds cleaned.

"We have to not only make sure that the skin is reproduced, but the pads are reproduced as well," explains Millham.

If his paw pads do not grow back, he can't survive in the wild. He will spend many months at the center with other orphaned and injured animals, though none of his fellow orphans have attained the same fame as this little bear.

"Its amazing. We're getting emails and phone calls from all over the United States," says Millham.

The goal is to release the cub into the wild, close to where he was found, in January. If he does not heal as hoped, he may be placed in a care facility or wildlife sanctuary. That decision will be left up to California Fish and Game.