Michigan – A young bear has been freed from a plastic lid that had been stuck around his neck for approximately two years. According to the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, nobody knows exactly what caused the bear to get the lid stuck on his head, but it appears to be a lid from a 55-gallon drum like those used by hunters to bait bears.
Cody Norton of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources said:
“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. It’s important to remember that the opening diameter is more important than the size of the container.”
The bear’s uncomfortable predicament was first noticed in 2023 on a trail camera – the bear was just a cub at the time, and he proved to be elusive over the next two years. In late May, a Hillman resident spotted the bear in trail camera photos taken on his wooded acreage and alerted the DNR. With the landowner’s permission, state biologists set up a baited enclosure trap and caught the animal safely on June 2. After anesthetizing the bear, they cut the lid off its neck and collected body measurements and other data.
Aside from scarring and an abscess on his neck, the 110-pound bear seemed to be healthy. After the anesthesia wore off, the bear was released back onto the property.
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