PARADISE — An emaciated bear cub found Wednesday in Yankee Hill is likely a Camp Fire survivor, due to the severe burns found on his paws and the conspicuous absence of his mother, said Henry Lomeli, a biologist for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

The bear, which Lomeli said was a “stunted yearling,” only weighed about 15-20 pounds when Fish and Wildlife wardens got a call to investigate a cub that had been up a tree for several days, according to a local resident.

Such a small cub is often a target of prey, and “because of that, they don’t get far from their mothers,” Lomeli said. The lack of a mother bear hovering somewhere nearby is a likely sign that she did not survive November’s wildfire.

Lomeli said the bear was in “terrible” condition when they found him, and that “he was just skin and bones and hair, with very little muscle,” after surviving on his own for the past five months.

The bear has been taken to Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care, one of the few local centers that rehabilitates bears. Cheryl Millham, founder of the center, said they often call their temporary residents by the area in which they were found — thus, the bear cub has been named “Paradise.”

Paradise the Bear is still at an extreme risk of death or organ failure due to malnutrition, and “he’s not out of the woods by any means,” Lomeli said, but Millham said she’s very encouraged so far by the cub’s acceptance of formula and of some oatmeal and fruits.

“As long and I can get him to drink formula, he’ll be OK,” Millham said.

So far, she said, Paradise’s favorite snack is oatmeal … maple-flavored, of course.

The center will likely keep Paradise for six to eight weeks, and if he survives, they will return him to the Department of Fish and Wildlife, headquartered in Rancho Cordova. The department officials will observe him for a short time, fit him with a GPS tracking collar and then return him to his home in Butte County, Lomeli said.

Generally, Lomeli advised, the department does not immediately assume cubs to be abandoned or orphaned, and always suggest waiting to see if the mother returns within a day or two.

“We don’t want to start taking animals away from their parents if they’re not lost,” he said.

But in the case of Paradise, it was obvious to game warden Lt. Barry Ceccon that no tracks from a mother were nearby, and the little bear needed help.

“He’s been without a mother for five months, trying to make a living and not doing very well at it,” Lomeli said. “He’s a tough little guy.”