UNBEARABLY CUTE

Lake Tahoe’s Famous Wildfire-Burned Bear Cub Spotted Playing With Toy Bear

Images of the bear cub’s scorched paws went viral after he was rescued from wildfires in 2021—before he made a break for it while still in his bandages.

Tamarack—the badly burned bear cub that escaped after he was rescued during the California wildfires in 2021—is safe and apparently very into toys in his own image. The bear was captured on video playing with a bear bath toy in a puddle in Sa outh Lake Tahoe creek recently, and was identifiable by his singed fur. The Instagram account Tahoe Toogee, which focuses on, well, bears, posted a video of the beloved beast on its account. “Rub-a-dub dub, Tamarack’s havin’ fun in the tub! No idea where that bear bath toy came from, maybe he poached it from a nearby apartment complex,” the account posted. “In the photo you see his burn scars on his toes. Those toe pads should be the same exact color as the pad on the bottom of his foot.” A year ago, Tamarack escaped from the Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care facility with his bandages still on, shortly after he was rescued during fires when he was around 6 months old.