Wouldn’t it be amazing to know how wild animals act in our absence? Well, using current camera technology, we can peer into a slice of the secret animal world. Trail cameras can capture a sliver of what animals are up to, without being too conspicuous.
That’s exactly how an orphaned bear cub named Tamarack, who had escaped from a wildlife rehabilitation center, was captured playing with a toy, while taking a bath in a puddle.
Tamarack, an orphaned bear cub, had been badly burned in a wildfire. So his paws were being treated by the caring staff at a rehab center. He was wrapping up his stay at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care when he tunneled underneath an electric fence, and found his way back into the forest.
He may have left the center a little earlier than his rescuers had intended, but he’s a bear, and he belongs in the wilderness.
Though, rescuers were wondering how he was doing out there, all alone. Luckily, his former caretakers were able to keep tabs on him thanks to wildlife enthusiast Tahoe Toogee. Tahoe has multiple trail cameras set-up in the forest surrounding his home. And they just so happened to capture tons of footage of Tamarack.
While they may have initially been worried about the six-month-old bear cub’s wellbeing, footage has shown that not only is he surviving, but he’s thriving.
“It makes my heart very happy to have watched his progress against all odds as an orphaned and healing cub of the year, now yearling. It shows just how tenacious wildlife is when it comes to survival,” said Tongee.
Tahoe has kept track of Tamarack’s movements and has captured plenty of phenomenal footage. In fact, he even captured the smile-inducing sweetness of the baby bear plopping down in a puddle and playing with a tiny toy bear he found. (Well, toys do make bath time lots of fun.)
Nobody knows where he found the toy or where it came from, but the footage has elicited quite the positive response. Even Tongee made a comment that the footage phenomenally demonstrates the softer sides of both black and brown bears.
“I thought how it was almost a perfect example of the playfulness of not only young black bears, but all of them,” said Tongee.
Once the short clip was posted on YouTube and passed around social media, this short clip amassed hundreds of likes and shares.
You can watch the video of the adorable interaction on YouTube.
Featured Image: Facebook
