Bear cub found injured on road in Somiedo

Injured bear cub found in Somiedo

A couple on holiday from Madrid found an injured bear cub by the side of the road near Villarín, Somiedo this Thursday afternoon, 26th of June. Disorientated, she was wandering from one side of the road to the other. After waiting a while to see if the mother would appear, the couple took her to the police station in Somiedo where the Guardia Civil contacted agents from the Natural Park to take charge of her. The 5-6 month old cub, who weighs 4 kilos, was examined by vets and found to have received a blow to the right-hand side of her head but otherwise appeared to be healthy so the decision was taken to try and put her back into the area where she was found, with help from personnel from Fapas and the Fundación Oso Pardo. Three attempts were made but each time the cub returned to the road. On the fourth attempt, the cub was taken further into the mountains but didn’t get out of the container she was transported in and stayed the night in it. First thing Friday morning her health had deteriorated so she was taken to a veterinary clinic in Oviedo where she was put on a drip in an incubator. Providing she recovers from the severe head injury sustained, the authorities are determined to reintroduce her into the wild and a search is on for the two female Cantabrian brown bears known to be in the same area, one of which has three cubs and the other just one. If all goes well, she’ll be tagged on release.

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Update on the bear cub – After being moved to the Cabárceno safari park in Cantabria for a few weeks, where it was felt she would be better able to receive the correct treatment, the cub has now been moved again. This time, a step nearer home, to the brand new breeding centre for Capercaillie in Sobrescobio, Asturias. In the peace of this new temporary home, it is hoped that she will continue her recovery with even less human contact and the opportunity to forage for her natural food, hopefully leading to her eventual reintroduction into the mountains of Asturias.

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