A black bear that spent three weeks roaming Cocke County, Tenn., with a large plastic jar stuck over its head has been released in the Cherokee National Forest, 85 pounds lighter but otherwise unharmed.
The male bear’s predicament was first reported June 28 when an employee of Newport Utilities spotted the bear near the Newport water plant. Wildlife officials believe the bear’s head got stuck in the large plastic jar while it was foraging in garbage.
The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency responded the next day but could not locate the animal. Almost a week later, wildlife officers responded to reports that the bear was back in the area, but again the bear disappeared.
Over the next week and a half there were sporadic reports of a black bear wandering around the foothills of the Smoky Mountains with what appeared to be a space helmet on its head. On one occasion a wildlife officer even shot at the bear with a tranquilizer gun, only to see the dart sail over the animal’s back.
In the following days, 50 calls poured into the Cocke County 911 Center and the TWRA office as the bear was spotted again and again.
On July 16, Cocke County wildlife officer Shelley Hammonds learned that the bear was still alive and had traveled to the Carson Springs area. The next day Hammonds received reports that the bear had been sighted across Interstate 40 in Newport. As Hammonds drove to the scene, the bear ran in front of her vehicle, and she was able to dart it.
The bear eventually went down in the parking lot of a pawnshop, where dozens of onlookers watched as Hammonds, a registered nurse and emergency medical technician, administered intravenous fluids with help from another nurse on the scene.
The three-week ordeal had left the adult animal weighing about 115 pounds when it should have weighed around 200 pounds. Hours later, after making a full recovery from the tranquilizer, the bear was released in the Cherokee National Forest.
Hammond said the bear had not eaten during its ordeal, and was able to drink by laying its head in a pond or stream so that water entered the jar. Because the jar fit tightly around the bear’s neck, it was barely able to get any air in the sweltering heat.
“I honestly don’t know how any creature on earth could live through that kind of heat and dehydration, surviving on its own breath,” Hammond said. “When you see an animal with such an incredible will to survive, you really want to help it.”
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