Brown Bear
Two bears received the tilapia technique, among other treatments, to treat their third-degree burns following the Thomas Fire. Here, a brown bear is pictured at the Zoological Park in France on October 12, 2017. Getty Images

As an alternative medical treatment, veterinarians from University of California at Davis confirmed Wednesday that it used bandages made of fish skin and corn-husk to care for two rescued bears' fire burns.

The rescued Southern California bears suffered injury following the Thomas Fire that hit the region Dec. 4, which was the state's largest fire on record. The two adult bears, one of which was pregnant, were found in Los Padres National Forest, UC Davis said. The pair suffered third-degree burns on all of their paws.

Dr. Jamie Peyton, who serves as the chief of the Integrative Medicine Service at UC Davis' vet school, worked alongside the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to create the tilapia technique, KABC-TV in Los Angeles reported. To effectively develop the method, veterinarians covered tilapia skin with extra wrapping by using rice paper and corn husk.

The additional wrapping reportedly aided in delaying when the bears would begin to pick and chew on the bandage.

"You can only anesthetize them so many times," Peyton told KNBC in Los Angeles. "It's hard on them. We can't do that to them every day."

The meditative treatment previously worked on humans that suffered burns in Brazil, the CDFW said. The technique, however, hasn't been approved for use in the United States. It also hadn't been tested on animals before now.

In addition to the tilapia technique, the bears also received cold laser therapy, acupuncture and chiropractic care, among other treatments. A 5-month-old mountain lion was also rescued, but his injuries were less severe. The cub did suffer burns on its four paws, however.

Dens were created for the animals by the state wildlife department before they were released Jan. 18 and returned back into the wild.

The Thomas Fire resulted in the destruction of 1,000 structures and two fatal injuries. The blaze, however, wasn't fully contained until early January. Despite its large size, the Thomas Fire wasn't the most destructive fire to emerge in California last year.

UC Davis' School of Veterinary Medicine didn't immediately return International Business Times' request for comment.

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