Bear rescue
The Sheet’s own Juli Ann Sprunger made the call to help this distressed bear and kept an eye on the animal until Wildlife Specialist Steve Searles arrived. (Photo courtesy MLPD)
On Tuesday morning, July 31, Mammoth Lakes Police and Wildlife Specialist Steve Searles responded to a call of a bear in the area of A Frame Liquor with a metal lid stuck on its head. The 125-pound bear (age 19 months) was found in the area of the Shady Rest tract. It had what appeared to be the lid from a recycling bin around its neck. The bear apparently had its head in a recycling bin when the lid became stuck.
The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) was contacted and game wardens, under the direction of Lieutenant Bill Dailey, responded. The bear was shot with a tranquilizer dart behind a house on Mono Street. Once sedated, the metal lid, weighing in excess of 10 pounds was removed. The bear was found to be in good health. He was tagged, transported to a remote area and released.
Searles said the bear could not climb a tree or eat with the large, heavy metal lid on its neck, and would not have survived without human intervention. –MLPD
