Back in 2017, a bald bear made headlines for being heartbreakingly emaciated and malnourished. Fortunately, seven years later that same bear is living its best life. It's safe to say that things have been looking up for Eve the bear.
Animal rescuers found the malnourished animal on Christmas Eve in 2017, digging in a dumpster in California. At the time, she was entirely bald due to a bad case of mange. The animal was certainly a pitiful sight.
"When Eve first arrived she was emaciated and entirely hairless because of an extreme case of mange, a skin disease caused by mites," Matthew Anderson, Director of The Fund For Animals Wildlife Center, told People at the time. "As her growth had been stunted because of the illness and a lack of food. It was first assumed that she was a yearling cub who had been orphaned. Following a comprehensive veterinary examination the level of wear on her teeth suggested that she was somewhat older. We now think she is between three and four years old."
Bald Bear Makes Recovery
The animal had spent its time digging in dumpsters for food. It was too sick to return to the wild.
Unfortunately, it appears the time she spent raiding dumpsters in urban environments resulted in her not being too afraid of people," Kitty Block, acting president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, said at the time. "That, coupled with lack of a proper full fur coat which makes cold weather, hibernating and interactions with other bears and wildlife problematic, forced us to make the difficult decision that she is not suited for survival on her own in the wild."
The Humane Society ended up rescuing Eve and helping the animal. It spent two years recovering with the organization before moving to its forever home at the Black Beauty Ranch in Murchison, Texas in 2019. Since then, the bear has grown back its missing fur and now weighs a healthy 160 pounds.
"When Eve was found searching through trash, tiny and hairless, she looked nothing like a bear. The story of this incredibly resilient, strong, determined bear is remarkable. She has been through so much. And has come into her own, expressing her natural wild behaviors, exploring, climbing high in the trees, splashing in her pool. And lounging in a nest she created at the base of her favorite tree. She is thriving and living the life she deserves, just getting to be a bear," Sue Tygielski, senior director of Black Beauty Ranch, shared in a statement.
Black Beauty Ranch/HSUS
