Bear Stories

Bear with jar on head now bareheaded

Last Updated: Thursday, July 22, 2010 | 1:12 PM ET

The bear is seen still with the jar on its head after wandering on the deck of a summer home on Lambert Island, near Thunder Bay in northwestern Ontario. (Rob Paterson/Canadian Press)

A bear in northwestern Ontario whose head had been stuck in a jar for at least two weeks appears to have freed himself, relieved wildlife officials said Thursday.

Officials with Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources said a canoeist reported finding an empty plastic jar with fur in it on the shores of Lake Superior.

They suspect the bear had somehow broken free and they hope to retrieve the jar and analyze it.

The jar would have made it impossible for the bear to eat and drink. The bear had lost a significant amount of weight and officials worried it could die of thirst.

Rescuers had been searching for the bear since Tuesday, after it was spotted and photographed on Lambert Island near Thunder Bay.

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2010/07/22/ontario-bear-jar-on-head.html#ixzz0uWBZHnR4

Bear Takes Car on Short Joyride in Colorado

Peanut Butter Sandwich Left on Back Seat Likely Attracted Bear to 2008 Toyota Corolla as Family Slept

(AP) 

A bear got into an empty car, honked the horn and then sent it rolling 125 feet into a thicket, with the bear still inside, a Colorado family said.

Seventeen-year-old Ben Story said he and his family were asleep in their Larkspur home, 30 miles south of Denver, when the bear managed to open the unlocked door of his 2008 Toyota Corolla early Friday and climbed inside.

A peanut butter sandwich left on the back seat is probably what attracted the bear, Story said.

It’s not unusual for bears to open unlocked doors to cars and houses in search of food, said Tyler Baskfield, a spokesman for the Colorado Division of Wildlife.

"It happens all the time," he said. "They’re very smart."

Once inside, the bear must have knocked the shifter on the automatic transmission into neutral, sending the car rolling backward down the inclined driveway and into the thicket, Story said.

The door probably slammed shut when the car jolted to a stop, he said, trapping the bear inside.

Neighbors had called 911, and deputies freed the bear by opening the door with a rope from a distance. It then ran into the woods.

Story said he’ll need a new car because the bear trashed the interior while apparently trying to find a way out.

The bear also left what Story called "a present" on the driver’s seat.

"A nice pile, actually," added his dad, Ralph. "Something to remember."

Baskfield said such incidents are worrisome because they endanger the bear as well as the public. Wildlife managers trap and kill problem bears that learn to scavenge for human food and garbage.

"Food was left in the car. It’s troubling for us," he said.