Gloves, a fur coat and a bear mask. The outfit sounds like avant-garde fashion, but it’s actually the uniform of caretakers at the San Diego Humane Society, who are raising an orphaned black bear cub.

Welch dons a fur coat, leather gloves and a bear mask for work these days, then enters an enclosure to feed and fawn over a ...

Beyond their bear costumes, staff have also created two habitats for the cub - one inside and one enclosed outside - that ...

Welch and her team at the San Diego Humane Society use costumed caregivers to rehabilitate an orphaned black bear cub in ...

The orphaned cub was about two months old when he was found in Los Padres National Forest -- weak, underweight and alone.

Autumn Welch dons a fur coat, leather gloves and a bear mask for work these days, then enters an enclosure to feed and fawn over a 12-pound (5.4 kg) black bear cub who she hopes will consider her ...

When he arrived, the cub was “extremely fragile,” said Autumn Welch, wildlife operations manager at the center. “After going several days without nutrition, it was touch-and-go at first.” ...

Autumn Welch dons a fur coat, leather gloves and a bear mask for work these days, then enters an enclosure to feed and fawn over a 5.4kg black bear cub who she hopes will consider her family.

Autumn Welch dons a fur coat, leather gloves and a bear mask for work these days, then enters an enclosure to feed and fawn over a 12-pound black bear cub who she hopes will consider her family.