Black Bear with Encephalitis Seemingly Asks for Help in El Dorado

Last month, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife started to receive calls about a small black bear exhibiting similarly friendlier behavior, not to mention fearless around humans, which was reported to have shown up in Pollock Pines in El Dorado County.

An NBC News report said the said black bear was slow to move, and it had a little fear of people. Meaning, all the yelling and clapping reportedly didn't intimidate the animal.

In contradiction to the wildlife agency's guidance, residents started to give the bear fruit and water.

According to officials of the agency, at one point, the black bear jumped into the open car trunk of a housekeeper, stimulating attempts to approach it and take care of it for a pet.

Black Bears' Behavior

The National Audubon Society said, typically, black bears are shy, and they avoid people unless forced to be around humans to be close to a food source.

When biologists of the California agency started to examine Pollock Pines bear, they declared the animal to be a bear, so young to be "out on its own," akin to dogs in terms of behavior, totally comfortable around humans.

The bear weighed roughly only 21 pounds when it was brought to the agency's Wildlife Investigations Laboratory. According to experts, a similarly old healthy bear needs to weigh approximately 80 pounds.

The agency explained that the bear intermittently shook its head at the laboratory and held it at an angle. After one week of tests, the animal needed to be put down.

'Encephalitis' in Bears

According to the wildlife department, necropsy verified that the black bear suffered from an inflammation of the brain called encephalitis.

It is found to be the third bear to suffer from the disorder and has shown up at the lab within the last 12 months. From then on, the fourth bear with similar symptoms was reportedly euthanized in Humboldt County.

Encephalitis can result from viruses, parasites, fungi, microbes, and auto-immune symptoms genetically passed down. Officials of the Wildlife have not discovered what's causing the swelling of the brain in the bears.

They also said they could not rule out whether bears impacted might pose a health risk to other animals.

Experts' Advice

Veterinarian Jamie Sherman, who examines diseases of bears at One Health Institute at the University of California said, viruses detected in some of the affected bears are not harmful to humans.

If one runs into a bear, advised Sherman, he should retreat calmly. And if a bear is found to have gone through the forest cottage hunting for food, the veterinarian recommended it to be cleaned using a 10-percent bleach solution.

By doing so, one should wear gloves and a face shield when cleaning a bear, in case of spray back is encountered.

More so, if one sees a bear exhibiting unusual behavior, the best way then to help it is to notify officials of the wildlife immediately.

According to the wildlife veterinarian for the wildlife department, Dr. Brandon Munk, sending a sick bear back into the wild is impossible.

Zoos and wildlife sanctuaries, he explained, might find it hard to care for these animals for the rest of their lives since they will need substantial medical management.

Black bears, which are usually found in most parts of North America, are not considered endangered species, this news report specified.

Related report is shown on Beckie Moore's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Animals on Science Times.