Cinder, Bear Cub Badly Burned In Wildfire, Back In The Wild

SEATTLE (CBS13/AP) - A bear cub found badly burned last summer in the largest wildfire in Washington state history has endured a long recovery but is now back in the wild.

Rich Beausoleil with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife says officials released the 2½-year-old cub nicknamed Cinder on Wednesday morning in a central Washington forest. He says the bear was in good shape and "running like a champ" near Wenatchee.

Cinder was found under a horse trailer after the Carlton Complex fire, her paws so scorched that she was pulling herself along by her elbows.

Now healed after stints at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care and the Idaho Black Bear Rehabilitation center near Boise, she weighs about 125 pounds.

cinder the black bear — FROM NOVEMBER 2014: Cinder in her cage at the Lake Tahoe center. She is at 83 pounds in this picture, up from the 39 pounds from when she arrived. (Credit: Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care)

Cinder was released with an orphaned cub she had bonded with during rehab.

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