SOTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. -- Skedded, national 350.Li'l Smokey will soon be broadcast live on the Internet.The injured American black bear cub who gained international fame after his rescue last month from the embers of a Shasta County, Calif. wildfire will soon have a webcam to complement his new blog."This (the webcam) is something we have never done before," said Cheryl Millham, executive director of Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, where the cub is recovering from his burns.Li'l Smokey, who was the focus of a recent "CBS Evening News with Katie Couric" segment, will be seen on a 24-hour webcam starting this week, Millham said.But she can't say if the webcam will attract many regular viewers."I have no idea," she said.The care center has been keeping track of Li'l Smokey, as well as all the other injured critters, through a black and white, closed-circuit camera system unavailable to the public.The new webcam images will be in color and will be available to anyone who wishes to go to the nonprofit group's Web site. The Internet address is www.ltwc.org. Li'l Smokey's rehabilitation blog is at ltwc.typepad.com.Millham, who said her husband, Tom, is working on the new webcam system, hopes to have it up and running sometime this week.The adorable, but sometimes feisty, bear cub continues to recover. His paws were badly burned during the Moon Fire in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest."He's doing great," said Millham, adding that the bear cub now weighs 25 pounds. The cub, who is about 7 months old, weighed only 8 1/2 pounds when he was brought to the center last month badly dehydrated.California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection firefighter Adam Deem of Anderson rescued the bear July 17 while scouting the northwest flank of the Moon Fire in the Grass Valley Creek area near Buckhorn Summit in Trinity County.The mother could not be found.It's hoped the cub's severe burns will heal well enough so he can be released back into the Shasta-Trinity National Forest during next year's hibernation season.(E-mail reporter Jim Schultz at jschultz(at)redding.com.)(Jim Schultz is a reporter for the Redding Record Searchlight in California.)
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