The bear cub found in a forest fire north of Salmon has been moved to a rehabilitation area in central Idaho where he will prepared to fend for himself in the wild.

Boo Boo has doubled his weight from 23 pounds to 46 since he was brought into the Idaho Humane Society Aug. 31. His second degree burns on his four paws continue to mend well and have no infections, said Fish and Game wildlife veterinarian Mark Drew.

Idaho Fish and Game biologist Jeff Rohlman picked up the young bruin at the Humane Society shelter in Boise Friday and took him to the Snowdon Wildlife Sanctuary in the mountains outside McCall. The sanctuary is dedicated to the care and rehabilitation of injured and orphaned wildlife. Since 1989 it has housed and cared for a range of large and small mammals and birds in distress from injury, loss of parents, or loss of habitat.

Boo Boo will spend the first night in a pen about the size of a single-car garage, which is attached to a two-acre enclosure at the sanctuary. When released from the pen, he would be free to roam the enclosure.

If he continues to mend, he will be released to the wild, as soon as later this fall, Fish and Game officials said.

The club was clinging to a tree when he was rescued Aug. 26 by firefighters working on the Mustang Fire north of Salmon. His feet were badly burned, and he was treated initially at Idaho Fish and Game's Wildlife Health Lab in Caldwell.

Since then support has come from around the world as Boo Boo has captured the public’s attention like Smokey the Bear did in the 1950s.