SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care has a new guest in residence, Ponderosa the bear cub. The 25-pound black bear arrived at the South Lake Tahoe facility Thursday. He had been watched by the community of Ponderosa which is located east of Porterville, Calif., near the Sequoia National Forest.
Private donors' new pledge to match $500,000 in contributions for a $1 million expansion at a Lake Tahoe wildlife rescue center is bringing smiles back to staff and volunteers, who have been on an emotional roller coaster since a bear cub being treated for severe wildfire burns made a much-publicized escape this summer.