London bear is doing much better, but rescuers say he's not out of the woods yet

The black bear shot by police earlier this month in Byron is reportedly on the mend and has a good chance of survival, according to the animal rescue agency nursing the bear back to health. 

The bear was at the centre of a 14-hour standoff with police and wildlife officials on June 8 after the animal climbed a tree behind a condo complex in Byron. 

After the bear was shot by police during the standoff, the animal was delivered to Bear With Us, a non-profit organization in the Huntsville area that rescues injured bears and returns them to the wild. 

At first the bear seemed to be in good health, but with an infected bullet wound ravaging the bear's body, veterinarians gave the animal a one in three chance of survival. 

Bear has made remarkable turnaround

"That's when the infection had really taken hold," said Mike McIntosh, the founder and president of Bear With Us centre for bears. "He wasn't feeling well and he wasn't eating, so he wasn't taking medicine,"

Thanks to powerful antibiotics and a number of surgeries to remove dead flesh from the infection, the bear started to feel better in a matter of days and is now sitting up and is eating well. 

However, McIntosh said the bear still has a rather large hole in his backside that needs to be held together with stitches. 

"There's still quite a hole," he said, noting the bear is also on painkillers to make his stay more comfortable. 

Bear has a sweet tooth

McIntosh said the bear, referred to as London by staff, is on a diet of mixed berries, raw egg and raw chicken and seems to have a fondness for sweets, especially blueberries. 

"He seems to like them best when there's brown sugar sprinkled on top. He eats the sugar first."

For dessert, the bear gets a butter tart, which is usually a tasty vector for the life-saving medicine that's helping him beat the infection. 

"He takes his medicine in a butter tart because it's not always the nicest tasting stuff, so we have to bury it in something that tastes really good. If we put it in his food, we can't count on him getting the proper dose," McIntosh said. 

London to be released far away from namesake city

McIntosh said while there's still a small chance London could take a turn for the worse, the chance is small. 

"London the bear is improving at quite a rapid pace, which we're very happy to report," he said. "His chances of release have gone from 20 per cent to 70 to 80 per cent."

McIntosh said once his wound heals and is able to hold itself together without stitches, London could be released soon. 

He said while it's difficult to say, London would probably be freed within the next two weeks, likely in northcentral Ontario and far away from the city that is his namesake.