Rescue network seeks to save, rehab California's fire-stricken wild animals

California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) staff evaluates a bear, as it is treated for burns suffered from the Bear Fire in Butte County, at the Wildlife Investigations Lab, California, U.S., September 21, 2020. Kirsten Macintyre/California Department of Fish and Wildlife/Handout via REUTERS

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A 350-pound (159-kg) black bear was released by a veterinary team into the remote woodlands of northern California this week, newly healed from crippling burns it suffered last month in one of the state's devastating summer wildfires.

The adult male bruin was the first of several four-legged fire victims admitted for medical treatment and successfully rehabilitated by a wildlife-rescue network launched in September by two of the state's leading veterinarians.