Donations are pouring in to build a new enclosure for a bear cub found wandering alone along a highway last year.
Little Bear was brought to the Two Rivers Wildlife Park in Mira, N.S. in May. Weighing only seven pounds at the time, he has since been nursed back to health by a local vet.
But Little Bear isn’t out of the woods yet. Park staff fear they might have to put him down if they can't build him a proper cage – at a cost of roughly $40,000.
The park had received about $3,500 in donations until this week, when a video of CTV Atlantic reporter Ryan MacDonald getting bitten by Little Bear went viral.
Park employee Jarrett Lewis says the donations have since quadrupled.
“The donations just keep pouring in,” says Lewis. “We’re up to about $16,000.”
People from across North America have been sending in donations, with some individual donations as large as $1,000.
Lewis says more people have also been stopping by the park to visit Little Bear.
“When the story went viral, everybody decided to come out,” he says. “The cars were just lining up, packed, phone calls coming in non-stop.”
Park staff are also planning a fundraiser to raise the rest of the money needed to save Little Bear.
“We’re going to have Chase the Ace every Thursday and all proceeds are going to go to Little Bear’s new enclosure,” says Lewis.
Once the money is raised and the enclosure is built, the park hopes to bring in a female bear so Little Bear has a mate.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Ryan MacDonald
