Injured bear cub recovering after surgery

Veterinarians in Toronto say they expect a bear cub found unconscious at the roadside to survive an emergency operation and make a full recovery.

The three-month-old, 8.5-kilogram cub was hit by a car last weekend near Huntsville, in the Muskoka region.

OPP officers found the cub and notified a local animal sanctuary.

A veterinarian examined the little black bear and found it had a broken leg. 

"She absolutely would have perished," said Dr. Jason McLeod of the Algonquin Animal Hospital in Huntsville.\

"At the time of day that she was hit, it was midday this past Sunday, it was very hot, very sunny, very humid, and the poor little cub had laid in the ditch for over two hours."

McLeod got in touch with the Toronto Veterinary Hospital and sought their help.

Operating on a bear was a first for the clinic, and the surgical crew had to work slowly and carefully.

"[Bears] can be very deceptive," said veterinarian Dr. Mitch Gillick.  "So, they could be very calm, but as soon as you touch them, they're very sound sensitive. So, they can wake up very, very quickly. So, it's going to go very slow and being very, very cautious around them."

Doctors believe the cub might be an orphan. They came to that conclusion when they didn't find any mother's milk in her system.

Thursday's surgery was a success. 

"It's very satisfying for me," said McLeod. "My everyday job is very interesting, because every day is a little bit different. But I do this stuff because I like to, and it's stuff like this that keeps me motivated and keeps me going."

Doctors say the cub is a tough little one, and they expect her to make a full recovery.

On Friday, the cub will head to another clinic in Muskoka for a week of observation.

After that, she'll be sent to a wildlife sanctuary in Muskoka where she'll be housed with other bears, before being released back into the wild next spring.