A black bear whose feet were badly burned in a North Complex fire in Butte County was released back into the wild last week, officials said.
The 370-pound male bear was found near the town of Berry Creek, unable to walk and with four burned paws back in August, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
He also had a minor eye injury and showed signs of possible lung injury from smoke inhalation.
The bear was taken to the Wildlife Investigations Laboratory in Rancho Cordova and was treated under the direction of a UC Davis doctor.
Vets treated the bear with pain medication and fluids to correct dehydration. The bear’s burned paws were cleaned using an infrared laser treatment before it was released back into the wild.
He was released into an area that hadn’t been burned by the fire — also called the Bear Fire — about 25 miles from where the bear was found, but still “well within his familiar range,” officials said.
“Although staff affixed a tracking collar to him, the crafty bear managed to pull it off shortly before the release,” wildfire officials said. Rather than sedate him again, a biologist decided to let him go without a collar.
The agency released video of the bear’s release into the wild, showing him poke his head out of the truck and then quickly jump out and dart into the forest.
“When the holding pen was opened, the bear wasted no time in dashing back off into the wilderness,” the wildlife agency said.
The Bear Fire has burned Butte, Plumas and Yuba counties, and has burned 318,930 acres and destroyed more than 2,300 structures. It’s the sixth largest wildfire in California history, according to Cal Fire.