WASHINGTON — Hugging a bear seems like a dangerous move, but that’s just what a group of volunteers did to help free a cub in Pennsylvania that got its head trapped in a plastic bucket for more than a month.
The cub, nicknamed the “bucket bear,” got its head caught in a “maxi,” according to the Penn Live blog.
The bucket had a metal rim which was around the bear’s neck.
The local game commissioner said there wasn’t anything wildlife officials could do because the bear wasn’t causing any harm, according to CBS Pittsburgh.
A group of volunteers decided to take the bear’s livelihood in its own hands.
On Monday, Dean Hornberger, Jeff Kriebel, Kaitlyn Lakin, Eric Kriebel and Shawn Balcita searched the woods and brush in Clarion County for two hours before spotting the young black bear along a road. That’s when they wrangled the bear and tried to pull the bucket off its head.
When the bucket wouldn’t budge, they pinned down the bear and used a saw to cut through the bucket. The bear was finally freed and ran back into the woods.
No one appeared to be injured during the bear’s rescue.
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