A family of boaters discovered a juvenile bear swimming with a giant plastic jar stuck on his head and rescued him.
Tricia Hurt and her family were fishing on Wisconsin’s Marsh-Miller Lake when they noticed the bear with the container over his head. Locals had seen the bear on land many days in a row, but suddenly the bear was swimming in the middle of the lake, battling to survive.
The bear was not only in danger of drowning as the container progressively filled with water, but it was also straining to breathe.
Tricia directed her son, Brady, to maneuver the boat as near to the bear as possible, while her husband, Brian, attempted to remove the bin off the bear’s head.
According to Brian, he could hear the bear fighting to breathe. He couldn’t get the jar off on the first try because the plastic was too slick.
They tried one again as the weary and terrified bear swam away from their boat. Tricia orders Brady to move in front of the bear, but she expresses her anxiety that the bear does not end up in the boat!
Watch the video below of the family’s rescue:
Brian, to to everyone’s relief, successfully takes the plastic bottle off the bear’s head after numerous attempts. Tricia cheerfully instructs the bear to “swim happy.”
The event was later described by the family in the news footage below.
Brian stated that when the bin was removed, the bear was able to breathe more comfortably. And Tricia said on Facebook, “Never dreamed we’d ever accomplish this in our lives,” adding, “He made it to shore after all that.”
The container caught on the bear’s head was a giant bulk Cheesies container, demonstrating how toxic plastic rubbish can be to wild creatures. Please be sure to properly dispose of your rubbish for the sake of all animals.