Bear cub rescued from dumpster recovering
Rehab facility says animal likely separated from mother during fires, will be released when a healthy weight
A severely malnourished black bear cub discovered in a dumpster in Red River several weeks ago is on his way to recovery and will eventually be released back into the wild.
Kathleen Ramsey, founder of Cottonwood Rehab outside Española, said the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish picked up the yearling bear in Red River and delivered it to her wildlife rescue facility, which she operates with her son, Ty Horak. At 11 pounds, the bear weighed in at less than 10% of what a typical black bear the same age would weigh.
The bear — now named Dawn, after the dish soap used to clean him up — had likely entered the dumpster in hopes of foraging, but was on the verge of death when he was discovered, starvation so advanced that he couldn’t open his mouth or chew.
Cottonwood Rehab started the bear on a liquid diet packed with proteins and triglycerides, and after several weeks of care at the facility outside Española, the bear cub has more than doubled its weight. Once Dawn reaches between 120 and
140 pounds, he’ll be released. Meanwhile, no visitors are allowed, and Ramsey and her son take pains to minimize the bear’s exposure to them during feeding and cage cleaning visits.
“If I’m lucky, I see a tail every once in a while, but that’s what I want to do,” Ramsey said, explaining if a bear loses its instinct to avoid humans it could lead to conflict in the wild. “They’re top of the predatory chain. Next to the cougar, they’re the biggest predator in the state of New Mexico. We don’t want any of my bears to ever cause a problem, to where they won’t allow me to rehabilitate anymore.”
Ninety percent of Cottonwood’s work centers around bears, she said, but they also accept other species. Their facility serves as a way station for rescued raptors on their way to other facilities, for example.
In the 40 years since she founded her wildlife rescue, Ramsey, a doctor of veterinary medicine, said her small organization has treated 700 bears. Among those, several cubs in Northern New Mexico were rescued during and after last year’s Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon Fire and Cooks Peak wildfire.
“My assumption is that he is actually another fire cub,” separated from its mother as a result of the wildfires, which burned to within roughly 30 miles south of Red River, Ramsey said.
Without a mother to nurse and teach them how to forage, yearling bears are prone to malnourishment.
“Mom nurses this bear for 6-9 months and stays and sleeps with that cub throughout that first winter,” Ramsey said. “We had two cubs come in from Pecos during the fire and mom was hit by a car as they were leaving the fire [and] trying to make it to safety. We got another cub in from just above Philmont Boy Scout Ranch; it was starving to death right on the edge of where the fire was.”
“Mom can run and the baby can’t run to keep up,” Ramsey added. “And the mom’s only thought is to stay alive, and the baby’s get left behind. I’m guessing that’s what happened to this cub.”
The American black bear has been New Mexico’s official state animal since 1963.