Animals are generally intelligent living beings, although sometimes they make unwise decisions that leave them in the most vulnerable contexts. This has been the case of a bear cub in Pennsylvania, whose head was trapped in a plastic container after a bad decision.
The animal was on the side of the road when Sarah Lindgren, Pennsylvania park manager, passed through the area. The caretaker, used to this type of situation, decided to act to save the little bear's life.
Lindgren was driving through the small town of Crossfork, in northern Pennsylvania, last Sunday when he observed a bear cub near the road, something quite common in the area.
To his surprise, the bear cub had its head inside a plastic container, causing it to suffocate. The professional approached the bear cautiously, grabbing the container as the cub flailed in resistance.
Fortunately, after ten seconds of fighting, the bear was free, breathing calmly again: “I highly doubt that it would have survived another day without intervention. I was very weak and dehydrated,” Lindgren says.
He also reveals: “Not only that, but it was right next to a paved road with a steep slope that led to a stream. I think he would have drowned in the creek when the container filled up, been hit by a car, or died of dehydration within a day.”
After being rescued, the little bear climbed a tree while Lindgren searched for the mother bear, who did not appear. Luckily, the bear cub will be able to survive on its own at about eight months old. Black bears are usually under threat from humans: hunting or vehicle collisions are several of the main causes of death.
