On January 9, a small Black Bear cub was seen in a field beside Alleghany High School in Covington, Virginia. The cub appeared to be lethargic, the Department of Game & Inland Fisheries was contacted, and a conservation police officer responded to the scene. The cub was transported to the Wildlife Center on the morning of January 10.
Dr. Kristin Britton, the Center’s veterinary intern, examined the cub when it arrived. The female cub, patient #14-0018, is emaciated and dehydrated – weighing in at just 3.8 kg.
The cub was anesthetized for radiographs and blood work. Dr. Kristin found that the cub has an old, healed fracture of her mandible, which is likely more than a month old. This very likely caused the cub difficulty in eating, in a year that is already scarce in resources for bears. Radiographs also revealed an old fracture in the bear’s hind left leg, injuries to the knee and surrounding ligaments, and suspected pneumonia.
The staff will provided intravenous fluids to the cub and will also place a feeding tube into the cub’s stomach. At this point, prognosis is poor.