Grin and bear it: Little Ricki is home in Colorado

Little Ricki has made it to Colorado.

The bear, who lived for 16 years in a small cage outside a York County ice cream shop, was taken overnight in a trailer to the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg, Colorado. She arrived early Tuesday morning and was placed in a temporary enclosure, according to Megan Backus, a spokeswoman for the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

The ALDF spearheaded a lawsuit to free Ricki from a cage at Jim Mack's Ice Cream, along the Lincoln Highway in Hellam Township. Lancaster residents Amanda Welling and Kelly Bennett and a couple from Red Lion couple acted as plaintiffs in the suit.

The bear's owner, James H. McDaniel Jr., agreed on Monday to turn Ricki over to the sanctuary. In return, the ALDF dropped the suit against him.

Under the terms of the agreement, McDaniel is prohibited from keeping any more wild or exotic animals in cages at the site, Welling said Monday.

At the sanctuary, Ricki will have some 15 acres to roam, as well as the company of other black bears. In York County, she was confined in a cage roughly 250 square feet in size, living mostly on a diet of corn and dog food.

The ALDF said veterinary experts said the bear was suffering a "slow and torturous decline in physical and mental health" in her confined surroundings.

News of the suit to free Ricki led to spirited public debate, on LancasterOnline and LancasterOnline's Facebook page, between people who rooted for the bear's freedom and others who felt Ricki should stay where she was.

British comedian Ricky Gervais joined the fray, asking his fans to lend their support to the "Free Ricki" campaign.