When a wounded baby black bear was found lying in a pile of garbage in Manitoba recently, the question soon came up of where to keep it on its first night in recovery. Fortunately for the bear, Jasmine Colucci, a nurse from Bloodvein First Nation and director of an animal rescue, was willing to give up her bed.
Colucci told the CBC that the bear was found severely dehydrated with wounds and holes in its body, by some local kids, who brought it to the community nursing station. “Once there, nursing staff started an IV [intravenous fluids] on the animal,” Colucci said. “Then we’re like, well, what now? What are we going to do with this thing, even if we put IV fluids on it?”
The solution turned out to be Colucci’s own home, where the bear stayed the night, rehydrating and sleeping in her room. As for Colucci herself, she stayed on the couch.
The bear’s health seemed to improve somewhat after being rehydrated, according to Colucci.
“Fingers crossed if she wakes up in the morning feeling better, she won’t eat me,” Colucci wrote in an Instagram post that included photos and video of the bear sleeping in her home.
Initially, the bear slept on the floor, but when it began to feel better, it jumped up onto Colucci’s bed, where it spent the night. Conservation officers brought the bear to the zoo the next day to be treated. The source of the bear’s injury is unknown, though Colucci said the wounds were so large that she suspected it had been shot.
Colucci told the CBC she’d found it a bit hard not to get attached to the “adorable” bear, noting that the kids had also gotten invested in its fate. They even offered Colucci a potential name for the animal: Winnie.
