A black bear cub near the Cherokee National Forest and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was rescued from a plastic feeding container that got stuck on its head, and state wildlife officials said the life-threatening incident is an important reminder to take steps to keep bears and humans safe.
The first report on the cub came Aug. 14 when a resident near Chilhowee Lake near Maryville, Tennessee, saw a bear and four cubs on her porch. One of the cubs had a plastic container on its head, Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency officials said in a statement. Chilhowee Lake is a reservoir on the Little Tennessee River, not to be confused with the lake in Polk County on Chilhowee Mountain.
Janelle Musser, an agency black bear support biologist, headed to the area to begin a trapping effort to save the cub, officials said. She was able to lure the cub into a trap, but it couldn’t trigger it with its mouth because of the container on its head.
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