The bear cub of Cross Fork

by Christopher Miller

“I noticed it while driving down the road into Cross Fork,” said Sarah Lindgren, Manager of Kettle Creek and Ole Bull State Parks. “I had just finished work for the day and was picking up my friend’s dog to watch as she was going out of town.”

The video shows a person (Sarah) slowly and cautiously approaching the bear cub who had gotten its head stuck in a plastic container.

“I saw it lying on the edge of the road and I thought it was dead at first, but I thought if it was not, then I could try to help it,” Sarah said. “The first thing I thought when I saw it moving was holy cow this animal is alive!”

The cub was laying on the edge of the road with not much but the road on one side and a stream on the other.

“I didn’t want it fall into the stream and have the container fill with water, so I snatched the container as fast as I could and held on tight as the cub tried to pull its head out, but it had gotten one of its ears lodged in the container and could not work its way out,” she said.

Eventually the cub was able to wiggle enough to get the container off, and it sat for a little bit, composing itself.

“By this time I saw another car coming down the road and I wanted to spook the cub down the hill so it wouldn’t run into the path of the car,” she said. “It scurried into a tree and sat there recovering.”

After the ordeal, Sarah went to retrieve the dog from her friend’s house, drove back down the road and noticed the cub still up the tree.

“I went home to pick up my son and take him to get dinner, pizza and wings, his favorite, and I stopped by to see if the cub was still in the tree,” Sarah said. “Sure enough it was and I was able to get some pictures of it.”

For Sarah, one of her biggest fears for the poor cub was dehydration. “It was smacking its gums which is a sign of dehydration, probably exhausted from fighting with the container,” she said. “Locally, we have a sow around with cubs that she is letting run wild, cubs have been found in town a bit, so I wasn’t too concerned about mother being nearby as the cub appeared to be old enough to survive now on its own.”

The container was the size of one of the jumbo buckets of pretzels, or cheese balls.

“This is a good reminder to us all to recycle and not dump trash around,” Sarah stated. “In the bear’s defense, it probably got into somebody’s garbage, so please secure your trash, and don’t litter.”

Also the best defense is to stay “Bear Aware.”

“We live in bear country,” Sarah said, “it is always best to secure your food in your home, or your car if you have it outside and are away, also to always clean up after yourself, dump the grease in the trash if you are cooking or grilling outdoors, invest in a bear-proof can or make your own cage to put trash in, but in general just don’t leave anything edible out, even bird feeders.”

The Game Commission has a BearWise initiative which goes along with being Elk Smart. “It is a good reminder for folks to keep their distance, clean up after themselves, do not leave anything out for animals to get into,” Sarah said.

“If you encounter a black bear in the wild, stay calm, back away and make noise. It should run away. If a black bear attacks you, fight for your life. Out west for grizzly bears you would play dead in case of an attack,” Sarah said.

“Black bear attacks are rare, and the most trouble we have with a black bear is people trying to rescue a dog or other family pet and they get too close, and that is when accidents happen,” she said.

The best rule of thumb when in bear country is to secure your food, keep a clean cooking area, and keep your eyes open.

“A fed bear is a dead bear,” Sarah said.