Autumn Welch dons a fur coat, leather gloves and a bear mask for work these days, then enters an enclosure to feed and fawn over a 12-pound (5.4 kg) black bear cub who she hopes will consider her family.
The orphaned cub was about two months old when he was found April 12 in Southern California's Los Padres National Forest — weak, underweight and alone. Since then, the baby bear has been cared for by Welch's team with the San Diego Humane Society in sessions that mimic familial behaviors. The hope is to eventually return the cub to the wild.
