Baby black bear with plastic lid stuck on its neck for TWO YEARS is finally freed
The two-year-old bear was first spotted in 2023 when it was a small cub on trail camera photos with the lid around its neck in Michigan.
Biologists at the Department of Natural Resources have attempted to locate the suffering cub for years, but the black bear proved elusive.
The cub occasionally popped up on trail cameras over the last two years, just to disappear a day later.
A breakthrough came in May when a resident of Hillman, a town outside of Lewiston with a population under 1,000, spotted the trapped bear.
The resident alerted biologists, and the Department of Natural Resources set up a trap to catch the bear.
A baited enclosure captured the black bear on June 2, and scientists gave it anesthesia to relieve the bear from the plastic lid. The black bear's measurements were and it only weighed 110 pounds.
The animal had suffered significant scarring and had an infection on its neck from the lid, but the department said it was healthy otherwise.
After the anesthetics wore off, scientists released the black bear into the wild, free at last.
Cody Norton of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said the bear's suffering was a lesson to practicing safe bear baiting methods.
Bear baiting is legal in the state on private land, but hunters are prohibited from using containers between one and 22 inches in diameter, according to the DNR.
Scientists didn't know how the bear got stuck, but noted that the lid seemed to fit the containers that hunters use to lure black bears.
Hunters put chicken feed or other attracting materials in the containers to lure the bears before killing them.
Norton also noted that the bear could've gotten stuck after rummaging through garbage.
'Container openings of a certain size can result in bears and other wildlife getting their heads or other body parts stuck in them, leading to injury or death,' Norton said.
The DNR advises those who live in areas with a high black bear population to securely dispose of food, garbage, and recycling.
Leaving pet food outdoors, failing to clean outdoor grills, and placing bird feeders outside can also attract bears.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Sean ‘Diddy' Combs faces growing wave of civil suits as criminal trial ends
After two months, the federal sex-trafficking and racketeering conspiracy trial of Sean 'Diddy' Combs came to a close on Wednesday with a mixed verdict. The jury acquitted the 55-year-old music mogul of the most serious charges – racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking – but found him guilty on the two lesser counts of transportation to engage in prostitution. Still, this verdict marks only one chapter in Combs's mounting legal battles. Combs, who remains incarcerated at the Metropolitan detention center in Brooklyn, is now awaiting sentencing and faces a growing number of civil lawsuits against him alleging sexual assault and abuse. While the guilty verdict on two counts means that Combs is likely to face prison time, it spared him the possibility of a life sentence. The outcome was widely seen as the best outcome Combs and his legal team could have hoped for, outside of a full acquittal. The federal criminal case against Combs began after singer Casandra 'Cassie' Ventura – one of his former girlfriends – filed a civil lawsuit against him in 2023. In the civil suit, Ventura, who became the government's key witness in this criminal trial, accused Combs of physical and sexual abuse, rape and forcing her to have sex with male escorts. Combs denied the allegations, and the lawsuit was settled within 24 hours. During the federal trial, Ventura testified that the settlement amount was $20m. Since Ventura's 2023 lawsuit against Combs, more than 50 additional civil lawsuits have been filed against the music mogul by both men and women, accusing him of sexual assault, rape, drugging and physical violence. More lawsuits were filed as recently as this week and last week. Combs has repeatedly denied all the allegations against him in the civil filings. The judge overseeing the case denied his request for bail following Wednesday's verdict. The judge tentatively proposed October for sentencing, though Combs's legal team has requested an earlier date. Each of the two counts that Combs was convicted of carry maximum sentences of 10 years. The judge has discretion to impose a shorter sentence and may allow the two terms to run concurrently. The 10 months Combs has already spent in custody will also likely count toward his sentence. Outside the courthouse on Wednesday, a crowd of Combs's supporters gathered to celebrate the partial acquittal, chanting his name and cheering as members of his family exited the building. But while his fans rejoiced, many victims' advocacy organizations expressed disappointment in the verdict. UltraViolet, a women's rights organization that staged a demonstration last week outside the trial in support of sexual assault survivors, called the verdict 'not just a stain on a criminal justice system that for decades has failed to hold accountable abusers like Diddy, it's also an indictment of a culture in which not believing women and victims of sexual assault remains endemic'. Fatima Goss Graves, president and CEO of the National Women's Law Center and co-founder of the Time's Up legal defense fund, issued a statement expressing solidarity with the 'courageous and inspiring survivors who chose to tell their stories, hold their abuser accountable, and seek justice'. Douglas Wigdor, an attorney for Ventura, said that 'although the jury did not find Combs guilty of sex-trafficking Cassie beyond a reasonable doubt, she paved the way for a jury to find him guilty of transportation to engage in prostitution'. 'By coming forward with her experience,' he said, 'Cassie has left an indelible mark on both the entertainment industry and the fight for justice.' In the wake of the verdict, several celebrities took to social media to share their reactions and support for Ventura. Singer Kesha posted on X: 'Cassie, I believe you. I love you. Your strength is a beacon for every survivor.' Actress Christina Ricci called Ventura a 'hero' and 'an inspiration' in a message on Instagram. Singer Aubrey O'Day, who was previously signed to Combs's Bad Boy Records label, shared a lengthy statement on her Instagram that read in part: 'It is heartbreaking to witness how many lives have been impacted by their experiences with Sean Combs, only for those stories to fall short in the eyes of a jury.' Actress Rosie O'Donnell expressed outrage online, writing: 'I guess a jury just never wants to believe that a woman stays because of power and coercion- wow – they just think women stay because what? money – fame – 'they love the abuse' – what a fucking joke – this decision got me angry.' And actress Evan Rachel Wood also weighed in, writing on Instagram that 'there is no consent in a domestic violence relationship. Period. Once the threat of violence is there, you comply. You do not consent, it is self preservation and survival.'
The Sun
2 hours ago
- The Sun
Airman molested female colleague as she slept as US Air Force base in UK
AN AIRMAN molested a female colleague as she slept at a base. James Loubeau, 37, met his victim and her pal at a bar on RAF Mildenhall — a US Air Force site near Newmarket, Suffolk. After a drinking session in May 2019, a friend took her home and helped her get ready for bed. But the victim then woke at 2.30am to find Loubeau in her bed. The FBI said: 'The victim almost immediately called two friends to say she had been raped. 'Surveillance video captured Loubeau after he left the victim's room.' Loubeau, of Miami, Florida, pleaded guilty earlier this year to two counts of abusive sexual contact. DNA tests also linked him to the attack. He was this week jailed for five years. A judge in Florida said he must spend another 20 years being supervised by the authorities after his release from prison. 1 Ex-Arsenal star Thomas Partey charged with five counts of rape against two women and sexually assaulting a third
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Federal judge again halts deportation of eight immigrants to South Sudan
A federal judge has briefly halted the deportations of eight immigrants to war-torn South Sudan, the latest twist in a case that came hours after the supreme court cleared the way for the Trump administration to deport the men to a country where almost none of them have ties. On Thursday, the nation's highest court affirmed that US immigration officials can quickly deport people to countries to which they have no connection. Then on Friday afternoon, in an extraordinary Fourth of July hearing, the district judge Randolph Moss sent the case north from Washington to another judge in Boston. Moss concluded that the judge best equipped to deal with the issues was Brian Murphy, whose rulings led to the initial halt of the Trump administration's effort to begin deportations to the eastern African country. Moss extended his order halting the deportation until 4.30pm Eastern time, but it was unclear whether Murphy would act on the federal holiday to further limit the removal. Moss said new claims by the immigrants' lawyers deserved a hearing. The eight men awaiting deportation are from countries including Vietnam, South Korea, Mexico, Laos, Cuba and Myanmar. Just one is from South Sudan. All have been convicted of serious crimes, which the Trump administration has emphasized in justifying their banishment. Many had either finished or were close to finishing serving sentences, and had 'orders of removal' directing them to leave the US. A lawyer for the men have said they could 'face perilous conditions' upon arriving in the country. South Sudan is enmeshed in civil war, and the US government advises no one should travel there before making their own funeral arrangements. The administration has been trying to deport the immigrants for weeks. The government flew them to the US naval base in Djibouti but couldn't move them further because Murphy had ruled no immigrant could be sent to a new country without a chance to have a court hearing. The supreme court vacated that decision last month, and then Thursday night issued a new order clarifying that that meant the immigrants could be moved to South Sudan. Lawyers for the immigrants filed an emergency request to halt their removal later that night. The case was assigned to Moss, who briefly barred the administration from moving the immigrants from Djibouti to South Sudan until his afternoon hearing concluded. He slightly extended that bar after he sent the case to Murphy. The administration has said it expected to fly the immigrants to South Sudan sometime on Friday.
