Mama Bear With Three Cubs Spends Days With Plastic Lid Stuck Around Her Neck

A mother bear that spent days with her neck trapped in a plastic lid was finally freed by a wildlife biologist in North Carolina. Justin McVey said the bear spent at least four days with the plastic lid stuck around her neck before he managed to remove it Sunday.

McVey, a wildlife biologist with N.C. Wildlife Resource Commission said they first found out about the bear after a homeowner in an East Asheville neighborhood spotted her with the plastic lid while her cubs, around 1 to 2 months old, would trail behind her, according to USA TODAY.

Help Asheville Bears (HAB) shared a video of the mother and her cubs on Facebook and noted that the animal resisted its founder Jody Williams' attempt to free her from the plastic lid. It is believed the lid was used on a large container of dog food or birdseed.

“The bear was located with the help of amazing followers who called to give updates on the location and the help of 2 AMAZING, HEROIC drone operators who worked to trace every lead on her location. Sadly, the container was extremely tight on the bear where it could not be quickly pulled off her head by HAB founder Jody Williams,” the Facebook post read.

N.C. Wildlife Resource Commission eventually intervened and laid out two culvert traps before monitoring the area to find the bear. McVey received an alert about the trap being deployed Sunday at 8:05 a.m.

“As I was driving out, there was nobody out. It was real quiet in the neighborhood. And there she is just moseying, not a care in the world. She was super calm,” he told the outlet.

McVey used a tranquilizer, which is normally darted into the neck. However, because of the lid, McVey had to dart the bear in her rump and risk her possibly running away, according to Nation World News.

“I got really lucky. She stayed there, the Cubs climbed a tree, I took off the lid, turned it over (gave her a tranquilizer antidote), done,” he told USA TODAY.

N.C. Wildlife Resources Commission posted an update on Facebook following the mission and said, “Once fully anesthetized, it took less than two minutes to remove the lid, confirm no other signs of injury and wake the bear up. The bear fully recovered, and staff left the scene once bear and cubs were reunited.”

Since East Asheville is often frequented by black bears, McVey told USA TODAY, “This whole story illustrates the point that we live in bear country, and it's important for us to be responsible.”