A two-month-old orphaned black bear cub is now recovering at the San Diego Humane Society’s Ramona Wildlife Centre after being found alone by campers in Los Padres National Forest on April 12, 2025.
Attempts to reunite the cub with its mother were unsuccessful, leading wildlife officials to transfer the fragile and underweight cub to the centre.
Since then, the youngest bear ever taken in by the organisation has made remarkable progress with round-the-clock expert care, enrichment, and feeding.
To prevent the cub from imprinting on humans, staff wear bear suits and hope to eventually pair him with another cub before releasing him back into the wild.
This rare and resource-intensive rescue highlights the vital role of donations in supporting the only San Diego County facility licensed to rehabilitate native apex predators.