This Bear Refused to Leave Her Baby’s Side —Until Rangers Realized It Wasn’t Her Baby at All (3 of 3)

The working theory now? Clara had crawled outfrom her family’s tent and stumbled upon the bear and her cubs. When one of the cubs died, possibly due to illness, the grieving bear latched onto anything that reminded her of comfort… and somehow, in that moment of pure maternal instinct, she began treating the child like one of her own.

The body of baby Clara has not yet been found. Search and rescue teams are still combing the woods. But for Lucas—and many others—it no longer feels like a recovery mission. It feels like hope.