The female bear cub found wandering alone on a country road in the Somiedo Natural Park last Thursday is suffering from a blood clot on the brain, and is not expected to survive.

The news was announced by regional Biodiversity director, José Félix García Gaona, who went on to explain that the cub, which has increased in weight from 3.6kg to more than 5kg, is suffering epilpetic fits as a result of the clot, and is being heavily sedated.

She will be transferred in this condition to Cabárceno Natural Park in Cantabria, which, Mr Gaona pointed out, is better equipped to meet her needs.

He also confirmed that Brown Bear Foundation rangers tracked down the injured cub's mother near Villarín last Friday, and that hopes remain that, should the cub recover, it will still be possible to reunite her with her mother.

Tourists rescue injured bear cub
By: thinkSPAIN
Saturday, June 28, 2008

Rangers are hunting for the mother of a 5-6 month old female Cantabrian brown bear cub found by a pair of tourists from Madrid, wandering alone on a country road in Somiedo Natural Park yesterday afternoon.

Fearing that the mother might be close by, the tourists waited for a while inside their vehicle before collecting the cub and taking it to the nearest Guardia Civil barracks.

Officers tried unsuccessfully on two occasions to reunite the cub with its mother, but when she failed to show up, and noticing a decline in the cub's condition, they decided to take it to a veterinary clinic in Oviedo during the early hours of this morning.

There, it was discovered that the animal is suffering from a serious head injury, and will need to spend the next 48-72 hours in an incubator.

It is feared that, with the passage of time, it will become increasingly less likely that the cub will be accepted by its mother, if, indeed, she can be tracked down.