Young Virginia bear finds home at Knoxville Zoo

RICHMOND, Va. - A young black bear in Virginia that can't be released into the wild has found a new home in Tennessee.

The yearling bear has been placed with the Knoxville Zoo.

The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the Wildlife Center of Virginia announced the bear's new home on Thursday in a news release.

The department says the male bear lost his mistrust of people after he was kept illegally in a private home for 30 days. Authorities seized the bear in May 2013 and brought him to the wildlife center in Waynesboro.

The department and the wildlife center are still seeking a home for a female yearling bear that's also comfortable with humans.

After being reared by humans, young bears can't be rehabilitated for release into the wild.

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