An Oregon trail hiker risks serving jail time for saving a black bear cub.

Photographer Corey Hancock, 41, was returning from his hike that day when he spotted a rugged patch of black fur on the side of the trail.

Upon closer inspection, he identified the creature as a black bear cub. It looked fragile, with its fur wet and its breathing weak.

He described the cub to Inside Edition as:

“He was hardly moving at first when I walked up to him. I thought he was dead.”

The three-month-old cub weighing only just 4 pounds seems like he’s not going to make it. Corey had to make a choice.

But the choice that he was about to make will cost him.

Just a year before this encounter, a father and son ignited a fierce debate after they attempted to help a baby bison at Yellowstone National Park. Just like Corey, they encountered a bison calf on the road.

They believed it was abandoned, and seeing the calf shivering in the cold, they took to the ranger’s station.

It ended up with the calf being euthanized because the herd wouldn’t take him back. The father and son tourist got a ticket instead of commendations.

If you’re baffled about the whole case, you should also consider that wildlife is part of an intricate ecosystem. In the words of Carmen Twillie and Lebo M., humans are prohibited from intervening with wildlife because “it’s the circle of life”.

Marc Bekoff, professor emeritus at the University of Colorado-Boulder, explained that if people kept on saving every animal in peril, it would disrupt the natural course in an ecosystem. Predators seek nourishment from weak and vulnerable prey, and scavengers feed on carrion.

The only time humans can intervene is when human activity causes the animal to become injured or orphaned.

Aside from helping animals, regulations also prohibit tourists from feeding, touching, teasing, frightening, or intentionally disturbing wildlife nesting, breeding, grazing, or other activities.

In the case of Hancock, he chose to risk jail time by rescuing the cub. In his interview with Inside Edition, Hancock shared that he even gave the cub CPR because it appeared so lifeless.

Hancock then took the cub, which he affectionately named Elkhorn because he found it on Elkhorn Road, to the Turtle Ridge Wildlife Center in Oregon, on the recommendation of someone on social media.

The center described the cub as “malnourished” and “lethargic” when it came in.

When Hancock saw signs of life, he drove the cub to the Turtle Ridge Wildlife Center in Oregon. The place was recommended by someone on social media. The staff at the wildlife center described the cub as “malnourished” when it came in.

While the cub recovered, he cannot be brought back into the wild ever again.

The people on the internet hailed Corey Hancock as a hero, but wildlife experts argued that the photographer acted out of line.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife sternly advises people to always leave wildlife alone, particularly the young animals. Experts also explained that even if the animals seemed abandoned, their mothers might have just left them alone to forage for food. Rescuing them would mean taking them away from their parents and habitat.

https://www.facebook.com/turtleridgewildlifecenter/posts/1394778117209211

The cub might be sent to a rehabilitation center in the meantime, but the chances of him reuniting with his mother is now “very slim”.

Hancock was contacted by the police and was reminded about the law instead of being fined or being sent to jail.

Hancock said to ABC News:

“I can’t say for sure what I would do if I did know the law. I have kids. That was a little life there that was about to be lost.”

Officials recommend that you call your local wildlife office when you see yourself in a similar situation.

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Source: Inside Edition via YouTube, Inside Edition via YouTube, National Geographic, National Geographic, ABC News, ABC News, Turtle Ridge Wildlife Center