Necropsy results have shown that Ladysmith’s bow-legged black bear had a long list of health problems prior to being euthanized.
RELATED: Bow-legged Ladysmith bear euthanized after vet examination
The bear was about half the size it should have been. The average adult female black bear weighs approximately 250 pounds, but this bear weighed 115 pounds.
“She wasn’t emaciated, she was just really small,” Conservation Officer Stuart Bates said. “It wasn’t just half the weight, she was half the size she should have been. There was fat on her body, she wasn’t starving.”
Bates said the bear’s small size was likely due to the several health complications the bear was afflicted with. The bear suffered from arthritis, a bacterial sinus infection that spread to its brain and parasitic larval worms that caused encephalitis of the brain.
“Due to ongoing infections of parasitic larva, there was also damage to her liver, spleen and kidneys,” Bates said.
RELATED: Bow-legged bear returns to Ladysmith, has an appointment with the vet
If the bear had been relocated again, it’s unlikely it would have survived the summer.
