Five bear cubs now staying at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care

The three bear cubs from Yosemite that arrived in South Lake Tahoe after their mother was killed on July 4 now have company! Two new cubs have arrived, one from Santa Maria and one from Azusa, California.

All five bear cubs are being housed at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care until January or February, once they are big enough to go back into the wild.

LTWC names their cubs after the area they come from, so the current residents are Yosemite 1, Yosemite 2, Yosemite 3, Azusa and Santa Maria (Maria for short).

Azusa was found on a trail with no mom around and had a severe head injury that resulted in the loss of one ear. She hadn't been doing well in Southern California and that agency was looking for a place for her to go. When she arrived in South Lake Tahoe, Azusa wasn't doing well and now does great with the others around according to Chery Milham, Executive Director of Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care.

Santa Maria came in at a small ten pounds. She was found without a mother around as well.

"Maria had so many foxtails in her that one punctured her eardrum," said Cheryl. "There were abscesses in her body from foxtails that she had to be on antibiotics for 14 days." The bear may be deaf due to that injury.

Local Veterinarian Kevin Willetts checked her out on Thursday and found another piece of foxtail in a wound and cleaned it out. Since the bear was knocked out they took advantage of the situation and were able to weigh her. In just 17 days she's grown from ten pounds to 22 pounds.

A Fish and Game Veterinarian will come up and observe Azusa as she needs a more complete physical according to Cheryl.

Maria had so many foxtails that one punctured her eardrum, abcesses in her body from foxtails..on antibiotics for 14 days, kevin found another piece in a wound. from 10 lbs to 22 lbs. Been there 17 days.

On Thursday, August 25, the cubs, as pictured here, enjoyed a newly donated bed where they enjoy taking their naps.

"All of them are doing really well," said Tom Milham of Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care.

The agency is taking monetary donations to help them care for the bears until they are released. Getting the cubs to a desirable weight is expensive, up to $100 a week per cub. Visit their website to make donations, www.ltwc.org.

The nine webcams on their website give people a glimpse not only into the three bear areas, but also a peek into the other animal cages who are currently living at LTWC.

The wildlife care group had a record 15 bear cubs in 2013.