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Lions, Tigers and Bears: Rescuing Sugar Bear

Ah, you've heard this one before: does a bear sit in the woods? Sugar Bear does, in a small cage in Ohio.

SAN DIEGO (CBS 8) - Ah, you've heard this one before: does a bear sit in the woods? Sugar Bear does, in a small cage in Ohio.

"Sugar Bear is now actually living in a corn crib, which is a round cage with a metal top on it, and it's probably at the most 15 feet by 15 feet. He's been there for over five years," Bobbi Brink of Lions, Tigers and Bears said.

But Lions, Tigers and Bears, Alpine's wild animal sanctuary, is coming to the five-year-old black bear's rescue.

"We'll have to do a little medical work on him to make sure he's healthy, and then it's a 4,500-mile trip," Bobbi said.

If Lions, Tigers and Bears can raise the funds, Sugar Bear will spend the rest of his life romping around a 4 1/2-acre enclosure alongside three other rescued black bears.

"We actually have a campaign going, and we're calling it '$5 a Mile,'" Bobbi said. "We've averaged out the cost to build a bedroom, go across the country, the food for the bear, the medical, everything, so if you could donate as many miles as you can, $5 a mile, it all adds up."

And if you want to bring the family up to Lions, Tigers and Bears to tour their amazing facility and spend an afternoon with all 52 of their exotic animals, they are hosting their annual "Wild in the Country" fundraiser on Saturday, May 12.

"We have all kinds of auction items. Phil's BBQ is doing the catering. It's really an important day for us. We raise about four months of our operating costs," Bobbi said.

Meanwhile, Sugar Bear, who was originally slated to be shot for trophy in a canned hunt, awaits a better fate, and the other residents of Lions, Tigers and Bears are looking forward to having you for lunch.

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