Euthanized Bear Had Been Sick, Not Drunk

A bear shown stumbling on a national television news segment and described as drunk was actually sick and has been euthanized. A necropsy on the bear found no trace of alcohol, the Denver Post reported.

“People want to associate wild animals with human behavior,” said Colorado Division of Wildlife veterinarian Laurie Baeten, who was with the young bear when it was euthanized. “And so they said she was drunk. It made a good clip. They wanted to look at this cute bear and see something that wasn’t there. They wanted to see a circus bear. It’s kind of sad.”